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FOUNDED  BY  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


ON  DRYDENS  RELATION  TO  GERMANY 
IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED    TO   THE   FACULTY   OF   THE   GRADUATE   SCHOOL   OF    ARTS 

AND   LITERATURE    IN   CANDIDACY   FOR   THE   DEGREE 

OF   DOCTOR    OF    PHILOSOPHY 


DEPARTMENT  OF 
GERMANIC  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURE 


BY 

MILTON  D.  BAUMGARTNER 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

lOM 


Übe  xamversit^  of  Cbicaöo 

FOUNDED  BY  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


ON  DRYDENS  RELATION  TO  GERMANY 
IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED    TO    THE    FACULTY    OF    THE    GRADUATE    SCHOOL    OF    ARTS 

AND    LITERATURE    IN    CANDIDACY    FOR    THE    DEGREE 

OF    DOCTOR    OF    PHILOSOPHY 


DEPARTMENT  OF 
GERMANIC  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURE 


BY 

MILTON  D.  BAUMGARTNER 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER.  PA. 


loi  4 


9  37^ 

[Reprinted  from  University  Studies,  Vol.  XIV.,  No.  4,  191-1.I 


I.— ON  DRYDEN'S  RELATION  TO  GERMANY  IN  THE 
EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY 

BY    MILTOX   D.    BAUMGARTNER 

CONTENTS 

Introduction  1-2 

Chapter      I.     Satires 3-30 

1.  Mac  FJecknoe. 

A.  Translated   and   Imitated    by    Christian   Wernicke   in 

Hans  Sachs. 

a.  Hunold's  connection  with  Hans  Sachs. 

b.  Bodmer's  connection  with  Hans  Saclis. 

c.  Ramler's  connection  with  Hans  Sachs. 

B.  Criticism  of  Mac  Flecknoe  and  Hans  Sachs. 

2.  Other  Satires  of  Dryden  in  Germany. 

3.  Essay  on  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Satire  Translated. 
Chapter    II.    Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie 3<"'~44 

1.  Ea^Jy  Noted  by  German  Critics. 

2.  Its  relation  to  Lessing  and  his  Seventeenth  Literatitrbrief. 

3.  German  Criticism  of  the  Essay  after  Lessing's  Translation. 
Chapter  III.     The  Drama 44-57 

1.  The  Four  Plays  Translated  in  Germany. 

A.  The  Spanish  Friar. 

B.  The  State  of  Innocence  (Three  Translations). 

C.  Oedipus. 

D.  All  for  Love  (Two  Translations). 

2.  The    Tempest    or    the    Enchanted    Island    a    Source    for 

Bodmer's  Noah. 

Chapter  IV.    The  Fables  and  Poetic-Classical  Translations 58-64 

Chapter    V.    The  Lyrics   64-86 

I.  Dryden's   Fame   as  a  Lyricist   in    England    due  largely  to 
Alexander's  Feast. 
A.    Musical  Compositions  a  Potent  Factor  in  Perpetuat- 
ing Alexander's  Feast. 
289 


306166 


2  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

B.  Reasons   for  the  Favorable  Reception  of  Alexander's 

Feast. 

C.  Translations  of  Alexander's  Feast. 

D.  German  Criticism  of   the  Original  and  the  Transla- 

tions. 
2.  The  Relation  of  Dryden's  Other  Lyrics  to  Germany. 
Conclusion    86-87 


INTRODUCTION 

While  the  Hterary  relation  of  Dryden  to  Germany  in  the  eigh- 
teenth centtiry  is  not  so  significant  as  that  of  Shakspere  and  of 
Pope,  it  is  nevertheless  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  in- 
vestigation. No  connected  study  of  his  relation  to  Germany  has 
been  made,  and  the  discussions  of  the  influence  of  his  individual 
works  are  either  incidental,  or  do  not  recognize  the  extent  of 
such  influence.  Koch^  scarcely  mentions  him  in  his  treatise  on 
the  English  and  German  literary  relations  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury; Vetter^  and  Eichler^  do  not  show  the  indirect  influence  of 
Mac  Flecknoe  upon  Bodmer ;  Fulda*  and   PecheP   see  no  con- 

^  Ueber  die  Beziehungen  der  Englischen  Litteratur  zur  Deutschen  im  18. 
Jahrhundert.  (Leipzig,  1883.)  Neither  Flindt,  Ueber  den  Einftiiss  der 
englischen  Litteratur  auf  die  deutsche  des  18.  Jahrhunderts  (Charlotten- 
burg, 1897),  nor  Seidenstic)<er,  English  and  German  Literature  in  the  18. 
Century  Poet-Lore  IL  p.  i6g  fif.  (i8cx5)  mentions  Dryden  at  all  in  con- 
nection with  Germany. 

2  Bodmer  und  die  englische  Litteratur,  Johann  Jakob  Bodmer  Denk- 
schrift zum  CC.  Geburtstag,  p.  313  ff.,  Zürich,  igoo. 

2  Christian  Wernickes  Hans  Sachs  und  sein  Dryden'sches  Vorbild  Mac 
Flecknoe,  Zeitschrift  f.  v.  Litteraturgeschichte.  (Neue  Folge)  XVII,  p. 
208  ff.  (1908).  Eichler's  admirable  article  exhaustively  treats  the  relations 
of  the  two  satires,  and  connects  the  influence  of  Mac  Flecknoe  in  a 
general  way  upon  German  criticism.  I  have  freely  incorporated  his 
results. 

4  See  introduction  to  Christian  ^^'ernicke,  in  D.  AL  L.,  XXXIX.  p.  515  ff. 

^  Christian  Wernickes  Epigramme,  Palaestra,  LXXI,  Berlin,  1909.  All 
of  Wernicke's  works  are  included  in  this  volume,  which  contains  an  ex- 
haustive introduction  also  dealing  with  Mac  Flecknoe  and  Hans  Sachs. 
Ferdinand  Eichler,  Das  Nachleben  des  Hans  Sachs  vom  16.  bis  ins  IQ. 
Jahrhundert  (1904),  with  Fulda  and  Pechel  sees  no  connection  between 
Dryden's  Satire  and  German  criticism. 

290 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  3 

nection  between  this  satire  and  German  criticism,  while  Schmidt,* 
Bernays/  Borinski,^  and  Meisnest^  only  incidentally  suggest  a 
relation  between  Dryden's  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie  and  Les- 
sing's  seventeenth  Literaturbrief;  and  no  noteworthy  attempt 
has  been  made  to  show  the  influence  of  Dryden's  dramas,  fables, 
and  lyrics  upon  Germany. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  present  a  connected  investiga- 
tion of  the  relation  of  Dryden  to  Germany,  showing  the  manner 
of  entrance  chronologically,  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  influence 
of  his  works. 

CHAPTER  I.     Satires 

I.  "Mac  Flecknoe"   (1662) 

At  the  time  of  Dryden's  introduction,  Germany  had  not  at- 
tained literary  independence.  In  consequence  his  critical  works 
first  found  favor,  among  which  his  satires,^"  although  poetical  in 
form,  must  be  reckoned.  Mac  Flecknoe^  a  personal  and  liter- 
ary satire,^^  was  the  first  satire,  and  the  first  work  of  Dryden  to 
appear  in  Germany  (1702),  leaving  of  all  his  works  the  deepest 
impression  with  the  possible  exception  of  his  odes. 

^  Lessing,  Geschichte  seines  Lehens,  und  seiner  Werke,  I,  p.  376, 
Berlin,   1884. 

"  Michael  Bernays,  Schriften  zur  Kritik  und  Lit teratur geschickte.  III, 
p.  103,  2d  Edition,  Berlin,  1903. 

^  Lessing,  I,  p.  iii,  Berlin,  1900. 

ä "  Lessing  and  Shakespeare,"  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language 
Association  of  America,  XIX,  p.  234  ff.  (1904). 

If*  Dryden  seems  always  to  have  had  a  fondness  for  the  satire.  In  his 
student  days  at  Westminster  he  translated  the  third  satire  of  Persius  as  a 
Thursday  night's  exercise.  In  1662  he  wrote  a  "  Satire  on  the  Dutch  " ; 
from  1681  to  1687  he  produced  six  satires  in  poetical  form,  of  which  three 
were  political,  one  literary  and  personal,  and  two  religious.  In  1693  his 
Essay  on  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Satire  was  published  as  a  preface 
to  his  translations  of  the  satires  of  Persius  and  a  partial  translation  of 
those  of  Juvenile. 

^''- Mac  Flecknoe,  or  a  Satire  on  the  true  blue  Protestant  Poet  T.  S.  was 
written  as  a  reply  to  the  gross  personal  libels  in  Thomas  Shadwell's  satire, 
The  Medal  by  John  Bayes. 

291 


4  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Mac  Flechnoe  was  introduced  into  Germany  by  Christian  Wer- 
nicke, diplomat,  poet,  and  as  critic  a  forerunner  of  Lessing. 
Under  the  tutelage  of  the  scholar,  Morhof,  he  had  learned  to 
honor  and  appreciate  the  poet  and  critic  Opitz^^  ^nd  his  succes- 
sors, Gryphus,  Hoffmannsvvaldau,  and  Lohenstein.  In  one  of  his 
early  epigrams^^  he  says : 

"  Den  deutschen  Pegases  setzte  Opitz  in  Lauf 
Und  Gryph  verbesserte  was  war  an  ihm  getadelt, 
Hernach  trat  Lohenstein  mit  Hoffmannswaldau  auf 
Die  unsere  Dichtkunst  und  sich  durch  sie  geadelt." 

The  dramas  of  Gryphius  had  made  him  one  of  the  foremost 
literary  characters,  but  when  Wernicke  began  his  career,  Hoff- 
mannswaldau and  Lohenstein  were  the  idolized  and  imitated 
poets. 

"  Der  hat  den  ersten  zwar,  doch  die  den  gröszten  Ruhm.''^* 

Later  however,  the  bombastic,  picturesque  style  which  the  two 
latter  had  imbibed  from  the  Italians,  especially  Marino,  was 
recognized  by  Wernicke,  and  he  characterized  their  poetry  as 
containing  "  mehr  falscher  als  wahrer  Witz  "^^ 

Wernicke's  sojourn  as  diplomat  at  Paris  and  London,  incident- 
ally, furnished  an  opportunity  for  familiarizing  himself  with  the 
language,  literature,  and  criticism  of  the  two  neighboring  coun- 
tries. During  his  stay  in  London,  Wernicke  became  somewhat 
acquainted  with  Dryden's  satires  and  owned  a  copy.  Aside  from 
Mac  Flccknoc,  he  was  familiar  with  at  least  Absolom  and  Achito- 
phel,  and  The  Second  Part  of  Absolom  and  Achitophel,  as  he 
later  employs  a  motive  found  in  each  of  the  two.  This  famiHarity 
broadened  his  literary  tastes,  and  the  diplomatic  service  tended  to 
sharpen  his  already  keen,  original,  critical  wit. 

Through    Wernicke,   Mac   Flecknoe    was    first    introduced    at 

12  His  Buch  der  deutschen  Pocterei  (1624),  little  more  than  a  compila- 
tion, had  been  a  guide  for  German  critics. 

13  "  Ursprung  und  Fortgang  der  deutschen  Poesie." 
"Ibid. 

i'^  See  note  to  the  Epigram,  Auf  die  Schlesischen  Poeten,  Palaestra, 
LXXI,  p.  314. 

292 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  5 

Hamburg.  Thus  Dryden,  like  Pope/*^  his  pupil  and  follower, 
entered  Germany  by  way  of  Hamburg,  but  unlike  Pope,  who 
came  indirectl)^  through  the  medium  of  France,  Dryden  was  at 
first  directly  introduced  from  England.  Hamburg,  replacing 
Silesia,  the  home  of  Opitz,  which  had  formerly  been  a  literary 
center  in  a  small  way,  at  this  time  held  the  foremost  place  in  the 
commercial,  literary,  and  musical  activities  of  Germany,  although 
it  would  not  be  considered  a  great  literary  center  like  London  or 
Paris. 

The  opera  supported  by  well-to-do  commercial  patrons,  had 
flourished  there  two  decades  under  the  leadership  of  composers 
like  Keyser.  The  opera  texts  were  written  by  poets  and  pseudo- 
poets  who  chose  this  as  a  remunerative  profession.  Likewise  the 
blood-and-thunder  novel  and  drama  were  in  vogue,  written  in  the 
figurative,  bombastic  style  of  Lohenstein  and  Hoffmannswaldau. 

Among  the  contemporary  writers.  Christian  Heinrich  Postel 
(1658-1705),  the  author  of  many  operas  and  of  several  epics  pro- 
vided with  numerous  learned  commentaries,  was  the  most  worthy 
poet.  Postel  endeavored  to  defend  Lohenstein,  his  patron  saint 
in  poetry,  in  a  sonnet  which  appeared  immediately  after  the  publi- 
cation of  Wernicke's  epigrams  in  1701,^"  and  this  occasioned  the 
first  literary  feud  at  Hamburg.^^  It  was  the  spirit  which  prompted 
the  sonnet,  more  than  the  sonnet  itself,  that  induced  Wernicke 
to  take  up  the  cudgel.  He  w^as  striving  for  a  principle,  the  root- 
ing out  of  the  "  falscher  Witz,"  while  Postel,  under  the  pretense 
of  defending  the  renowned  Silesian,  Lohenstein,  was  in  reality 
defending  his  own  poetry  patterned  after  him. 

"  Schau  .  .  . 
Wie  jetzt  dein  Lohenstein,  das  Wunder  aller  Erden, 
Der  Teutschlands   Sonne  muss  mit  recht  genennet  werden, 
So  frech  gelästert  wird  durch  Stolz  und  Unverstand."!^ 

Neither  Postel's  defense  of  Lohenstein,  nor  the  charging  of 

1^  J.  H.  Heinzelmann,  "  Pope  in  Germany  in  the  Eighteenth  Century," 
Modern  Philology,  X,  pp.  317-364  (Chicago,  1913). 

1'^  Elias,  Christian  Wernicke,  Dissertation,  München,  1888,  p.  216. 
IS  Rudolf  Pechel,  Prolegomina  su  Wernickes  Epigramme,  p.  30. 
"Ibid.,  p.  31. 

293 


6  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Wernicke  with  presumption,  nor  the  ridiculous  comparison  of 
him  with  a  hare  hopping  about  on  the  dead  body  of  the  lion,  Lohen- 
stein,  succeeded  in  silencing  Wernicke.  On  the  contrary,  even 
though  his  literary  work  was  so  slight  that  he  was  regarded  as  a 
layman  of  little  consequence,  he  completely  silenced  Postel  by  re- 
plying to  the  sonnet  with  his  satire  Hans  Sachs-'^  in  pamphlet 
form,  containing  a  foreword  even  more  bitter  than  the  satire  it- 
self. Shadwell's  scathing  satire  warranted  Mac  Flecknoe,  but 
Postel's  sonnet  did  not  warrant  Hans  Sachs.  Wernicke  endeav- 
ored to  justify  it  on  the  ground  that  the  sonnet  was  frequently 
wrongly  ascribed  to  (Nicholas  von)  Bostel,  a  contemporary,  whose 
name  was  confused  with  Postel.  He  sought  to  temper  his  criti- 
cism somewhat  by  saying  that  the  translation  was  made  to  furnish 
the  German  reader  an  innocent  pastime,  designating  it  as  a  "  lust- 
ige Erfindung." 

Wernicke's  theories  of  the  satire  which  he  sets  up  in  the  intro- 
duction to  his  epigrams  in  the  main  agree  with  those  of  Dryden. 
Under  the  influence  of  Boileau  and  Dryden  he,  like  the  latter, 
amends  his  former  criticism  with  the  one  difference  that  he  frankly 
acknowledges  his  change  of  viewpoint  and  justifies  the  change.-^ 
He  now  deprecates  in  the  Silesian  idols  and  their  followers,  the 
fine  figures  of  speech  and  insists  that  thoughts  are  the  soul  of 
poetry  just  as  Dryden  insists  on  wit."- 

According  to  Dryden,  "  The  function  of  the  satire  is  to  lash 

20  "Ein  /  Helden-Gedicht  /  Hans  Sachs  genannt  /  aus  dem  Englischen 
übersetzet  /  Von  Dem  Verfasser  /  Der  Uberschriffte  /  und  /  Shäfer- 
Gedichte  /  nebst  einigen  nöthigen  /  Erklärungen  /  des  Übersetzers 
(Altona,  1702)." 

21 "  Man  hatte  als  man  diese  Überschrifft  schrieb,  nicht  allein  keine 
Englische  und  Frantzösiche  Poeten;  sondern  auch  sogar  die  besten 
Lateinischen  nichts  anders  als  der  Sprache  halber  gelesen.  Wannenhero 
es  kein  Wunder,  dasz  man  sich  damals  in  seinem  Urtheil  etwas  verstiegen." 
See  Palaestra,  LXXXI,  p.  315  (Berlin,  1909). 

--  "  Man  hält  davor,  dasz  wir  bisshero  in  unseren  Versen  mit  eitlen  und 
falschen  Worten  zu  viel  gespielet,  und  sehr  wenig  auf  das  bedacht  ge- 
wesen, was  die  Welschen  Concetti,  die  Frantzosen  Pensees,  die  Engländer 
Thoughts  und  wir  füglich  Einfälle  nennen  können;  da  doch  dieselbe  die 
Seele  eines  Gedichtes  sind."     Ibid.,  p.  120. 

294 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  y 

vice  into  reformation  ;-^  the  true  end  of  satire  is  the  amendement 
■of  vices  by  correction  ;-*  or  to  reprehend  severely  vice,  ignorance 
and  error."^^  To  lampoon  another  he  holds  dangerous  but  justi- 
fies it  on  two  grounds :  first,  "  to  avenge  vjhtn  we  have  been 
affronted  in  the  same  nature ;  or  have  in  any  way  been  notoriously 
abused  and  can  make  ourselves  no  other  reparation  "  ;  and  second, 
"  it  is  an  action  of  virtue  to  make  example  of  vicious  men  when 
they  become  a  public  nuisance  both  for  their  own  amendment  and 
for  the  terror  of  others."  The  most  effective  attitude  to  assume 
in  a  satire,  he  maintains,  "  is  a  sharp  well-mannered  way  of  laugh- 
ing a  folly  out  of  countenance."  In  the  Essay  on  the  Origin 
■and  Progress  of  the  Satire,  Dryden  holds  up,  as  his  ideal  of  char- 
acterization in  satire,  his  own  character  sketch  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  whom  he  satirizes  under  the  name  of  Zimri  in  Ah- 
solom  and  Achitophel,  as  a  retaliation  for  the  latter 's  ridicule  of 
him  in  The  Rehearsal}^ 

Wernicke  holds  that  the  duty  of  the  satirist  is  to  portray  natur- 
ally the  recognized  prevailing  vices  and  follies  of  the  times. ^^ 
With  Dryden  he  maintains  that  the  best  manner  of  correcting 
folly  in  the  world  is  with  a  laughing  countenance  (mit  lachendem 
IMunde),^^  but  to  do  this  much  experience  and  sane  reflection  are 
necessary.  The  lampoon,  he  justifies  also  on  the  ground  of  being 
wrongly  abused.  The  prevailing  vices  and  follies  he  would  por- 
tray only  in  a  general  way,  so  that  those  who  saw  their  own  image 
in  the  portrayal  would  have  no  cause  to  be  angry  with  the  author. 

23  Foreword  to  The  State  of  Innocence  (1674),  Scott-Saintsbury,  V, 
p.  100  ff. 

24  Foreword  to  Absoloni  and  Achitophel  (1681),  ibid.,  IV,  p.  214. 

"^^  Essay  on  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Satire  (1693),  ibid.,  XIII, 
p.  Iff. 

26  "  The  character  of  Zimri  in  my  Absolom  is,  in  my  opinion,  worth  the 
whole  poem:  it  is  not  bloody,  but  it  is  ridiculous  enough:  ...  If  I  had 
railed,  I  might  have  suffered  for  it  justly:  ...  I  avoided  the  mention 
•of  great  crimes,  and  applied  myself  to  the  representing  of  blind  sides  and 
little  extravagances;  to  which  the  wittier  a  man  is,  he  is  generally  the 
more  obnoxious."  "  On  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Satire,"  Scott- 
Saintsbury,  XIII,  p.  99. 

^T  Palaestra.  LXXI,  p.  118. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  117. 

295 


8  Milton  D.  Dauingartner 

Ironically  he  adds  that  out  of  courtesy  he  would  mention  neither 
the  real  nor  the  assumed  names  of  the  opponent  who  attacked 
him  first  without  cause  in  order  to  give  them  "die  völlige  Frey- 
heit  in  kurtzer  Zeit  mit  ihren  Schriften  vergessen  zu  werden."-^ 

In  practice  there  is  little  difference  between  Dryden  and  Wer- 
nicke in  the  manner  of  satirizing.  Both  were  by  nature  too  harsh 
and  too  severe.  In  the  foreword  to  Ahsolom  and  Achitophel, 
Dryden  says:  "I  can  write  severely  with  more  ease  than  I  can 
gently."  Wernicke  likewise  admits  that  he  was  inclined  to  apply 
the  lash.  lie  maintains  that  in  his  early  satirical  epigrams,  "  hat 
man  die  Laster  eifrig  und  gleichsam  mit  der  Peitsche  in  der  Hand 
verfolget";^"  and  he  tacitly  admits  his  harshness  by  suppressing 
the  sharpest  criticism  in  the  foreword  of  the  second  edition  of 
Hans  Sachs.  Similarly  there  is  little  difference  in  the  use  of 
real  names.  With  the  exception  of  j\Iac  Flccknoc,  Dryden 
nowhere  names  his  opponent,  while  in  Hans  Sachs  Wernicke 
uses  the  transparent  anagram  "  Stelpo  "  for  Postel. 

The  influence  of  Dryden  upon  Wernicke  is  evident  from  his 
accidental  choice  of  Mac  Flecknoe.  He  tells  us  in  the  preface 
how  he  chanced  upon  it  when  preparing  a  reply  to  Postel's  son- 
net. "Als  ich  nun  mit  diesen  Gedanken  im  Schwange  ging,  so 
gerieth  ich  unversehens  unter  meinen  zusammengesammelten 
Schrifften  auf  folgendes  sinnreiches  Gedicht  eines  berühmten  Eng- 
lischen Poeten,  worinnen  er  eine  Person  aufgeführet  hat,  welche 
meinem  Widersacher  in  allen  Stücken  gleichet,  und  welche,  über- 
dem,  damit  er  sich  an  der  Vergleichung  nicht  stossen  möge,  des 
damaligen  Königs  von  Engelland  wohlbestelter  gekrönter  Poet 
war.  Die  Versuchung  war  zu  grosz,  dass  ich  derselben  hätte 
widerstehen  können,  und  das  Gedicht  kaum  überlesen,  dasz  ich 
schon  dasselbe  in  unsere  Sprache  zu  übersetzen  und  dem  Teutschen 
Leser  die  unschuldige  Kurtzweil  zu  gönnen  den  Schluss  gefas- 
set."^^  Wernicke  acknowledges  his  debt  to  Dryden  in  the  fore- 
word of  both  editions  of  Hans  Sachs.  In  the  first  he  says : 
"Was  im  übrigen  die  Übersetzung  dieses  Gedichtes  betrifft,  so 

2ö  Palaestra,  LXXI,  p.  119. 

30  Ibid.,  p.  117. 

31  See  Elias,  p.  220  fF. 

296 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  g 

wird  der  Leser,  dem  hiesiger  Ort  kündig,  ohne  meine  Anmerkung 
gleich  von  selbst  ermessen  können,  dass  obgleich  dem  Englischen 
Poeten  die  Erfindung  und  Ordnung  desselben  abgeborget,  mir 
dennoch  zum  Wenigsten  die  Helfte  der  Gedanken  eigentümlich 
zugehöre."  In  the  second  edition  he  lays  even  greater  claims  to 
original  ideas :  "  Die  Erfindung  desselben  hat  man  einem  Eng- 
lischen Poeten  abgelehnet,  die  meisten  Einfälle  aber  von  selbst 
nehmen  müssen." 

As  Wernicke  has  said,  the  general  plan  of  Hans  Sachs  is 
borrowed  from  Mac  Flecknoe.  Both  present  the  coronation 
celebration  of  the  chosen  heir  in  the  realm  of  nonsense.  They 
consist  of  two  monologues  by  the  sire  king  set  in  a  framework  of 
three  explanatory  links — the  introduction,  a  connecting  link,  and 
the  conclusion.  The  introduction  (both  Dry  den  and  Wernicke 
I— 13)  describes  the  aged  monarch  who  resolves  to  abdicate  the 
throne  in  favor  of  one  of  his  numerous  sons ;  the  first  monologue 
(Dryden  14-59,  Wernicke  14-86)  names  and  characterizes  the 
successor,  setting  forth  the  reason  for  the  choice ;  the  connecting 
link  (Dryden  60-138,  Wernicke  87-170)  gives  a  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  seat  and  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation ;  the  second 
monologue  (Dryden  139-210,  Wernicke  171-263)  contains  the 
retiring  king's  prophecy  and  testament  to  the  enthroned  heir ;  and 
the  conclusion  (Dryden  211-217,  Wernicke  264-269)  depicts  tlie 
disappearance  of  the  declaiming  king  through  a  trap  door,  leaving 
behind  his  robe  which  is  to  clothe  his  heir  with  a  double  portion  of 
his  art. 

Wernicke  follows  Dryden  throughout  in  the  motives,  except 
where  he  refers  to  the  literary  conditions  at  Hamburg,  and  quotes 
or  parodies  the  works  of  Postel.  The  general  motive,  however, 
of  parodying  and  quoting  from  Postel  is  borrowed  from  Dryden. 
He  imitates  Dryden  even  in  minute  details :  as  for  example,  Dry- 
den signs  himself :  "  by  the  Author  of  Absolem  and  Achitophel  " 
and  Wernicke:  "Von  dem  Verfasser  der  Uberschriffte  und 
Schäfer-Gedichte."  The  motives  which  Wernicke  borrows  from 
Dryden  are:  Human  things  decay  and  are  subject  to  the  decree  of 
fate;  an  old  monarch  in  the  realm  of  ignorance,  weary  of  rule, 
wishes  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  an  heir;  the  choice  from  among 

297 


lO  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

his  numerous  sons  of  the  one  most  resembling  him;  the  ehmina- 
tion  of  all  the  others,  because  a  beam  of  wit  escapes  their  souls 
at  times;  the  ridiculous  personal  appearance  of  the  heir;  the  ac- 
knowledgment by  the  king  that  he  was  sent  to  prepare  the  way  for 
his  heir ;  the  musical  ability  of  the  king  and  his  heir ;  the  tears  of 
joy  shed  in  rapture  over  the  hopeful  son  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
first  monologue ;  the  description  of  the  environment  and  seat  of 
the  crowning  celebration ;  the  prophecy  foretelling  the  reign  of 
the  prince  of  ignorance  in  the  .playhouse ;  the  spreading  of  the 
report  of  the  crowning  celebration  through  the  town ;  the  detailed 
account  of  the  crowning  celebration  such  as  the  arrival  of  a  large 
concourse  of  people,  the  carpeting  of  the  way  with  the  leaves  of 
the  works  of  forgotten  poets,  the  bodyguard  composed  of  disap- 
pointed publishers,  captained  by  the  publishers  of  Dryden  and 
Wernicke ;  the  cloud  of  dullness  hovering  over  the  heir  as  he  sits 
next  to  Rome's  other  hope ;  the  oath  of  office  compared  to  that  of 
Hannibal ;  the  vow  to  maintain  dullness  in  the  realm  until  death ; 
the  anointment  prepared  by  the  king's  own  hands ;  the  crown  of 
flowers;  the  omen  of  the  owls  compared  with  that  of  Romulus; 
the  sire's  prophecy  of  the  expansion  of  the  realm;  the  interruption 
of  the  monologue  by  the  "Amen"  of  the  people  ;  the  admonition  to 
increase  in  impudence  and  ignorance  and  to  suffer  "  pangs  without 
birth  in  fruitless  industry  " ;  to  toil  without  wit ;  to  let  others  in 
triumph  tread  the  stage ;  to  sketch  his  fools  and  heroes  in  his  own 
image  so  that  posterity  might  recognize  them  as  his  own  issue ;  to 
trust  nature  and  write  naturally-dull ;  the  quotations  and  parodies 
of  the  opponents,  Shadwell  and  Postel;  the  inoffensive  satires  of 
the  opponents ;  the  opponent's  plays  are  only  farces ;  the  admoni- 
tions to  practice  anagrams  and  set  their  own  songs  to  music :  and 
finally  the  disappearing  of  the  declaiming  bard  through  a  trap 
door,  and  the  leaving  behind  of  his  robe  to  the  new  king  with  a 
double  blessing  of  his  art. 

The  two  motives  which  Wernicke  took  from  the  other  satires 
of  Dryden  have  already  been  referred  to  above.  The  first  is  from 
the  passage  in  Absolom  and  Achitophel  (555-556),  devoted  to 
satirizing  Zimri  (Buckingham).  It  acuses  him  of  going  to  ex- 
tremes in  favorable  criticism  of  friend  and  unfavorable  of  foe. 

298 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  1 1 

"  Railing  and  praising  were  his  usual  themes, 
And  both,  to  show  his  judgment  in  extremes." 

Hans  Sachs,  238-239 : 

"Fleuch  wenn  du  tadeln  wilt,  bey  Leib  die  Mittel-Straass. 
Und  wenn  du  jemand  rühmst,  so  halt'  auch  keine  Maass.' " 

The  other  motive  not  found  in  Mac  Flecknoe  is  from  The  Sec- 
ond Part  of  Absolom  and  Achitophel  (457-458),  and  is  the  pro- 
phetic blessing  to  be  dull,  pronounced  upon  the  heir  at  birth  by  the 
nurse. 

"The  midwife  laid  her  hand  on  his  thick  skull, 
With  this  prophetic  blessing — Be  thou  dull." 

Hans  Sachs,  17-18. 

"  Selbst  seine  Amme  fasst'  nach  der  Gebührt  ihn  um. 
Weissagt'  und  segnet'  ihn  mit  diesem  Wunsch :  sey  dumm." 

This  is  again  repeated,  hne  90. 

"  Bestätigend  den  Wunsch  der  Ammen :  Sey  du  dumm."^^ 

This  comparison  of  motives  is  striking,  because  the  same  mo- 
tives which  Dryden  appHed  to  Shadwell  in  the  satire,  lend  them- 
selves admirably  to  satirizing  Postel,  thereby  substantiating  the 
claim  of  Wernicke  made  in  the  preface,  "welcher  (Shadwell) 
meinem  Widersacher  (Postel)  in  alien  Stücken  gleichet."  Dry- 
den's motive  of  choosing  the  dead  poet,  Flecknoe, ^^  as  the  sire 
king,  finds  a  happy  parallel  in  Wernicke's  choice  of  Hans  Sachs, 
so  far  as  the  force  of  the  satire  is  concerned,  as  it  holds  Postel  up 
to  genuine  ridicule. 

Other  parallel  motives  that  were  equally  applicable  to  the 
German  situation  are:  The  imitation  of  renowned  poets   (Shad- 

32  See  Eichler,  Loco  citato,  p.  218;  and  Pechel,  Loco  citato,  p.  34. 

33  Richard  Flecknoe,  a  dull  but  prolific  Irish  poet,  who  died  in  1678, 
was  chosen  as  the  father  of  Shadwell  and  furnished  the  name  and  back- 
ground for  the  satire.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  stock  character  for 
satirizing  and  Dryden  speaks  of  him  with  contempt  in  his  dedication  of 
Limherham  (1678). 

299 


12  Milton  D.  Bawngartncr 

well  imitated  the  humors  of  Jonson,  while  Postel  emulated  Eurip- 
ides) ;  the  satirizing  of  their  opponents'  works  and  characters; 
the  lame  verses  in  Shadvvell's  opera,  Psyche,  and  the  effusive 
style  in  Postel's  works ;  and  the  musical  ability  of  the  two 
opponents.^* 

With  few  exceptions,  the  motives  which  Dryden  applied  to  his 
English  opponent,  Wernicke  applied  to  his  German  opponent  with 
equal  force.  Some  of  the  most  striking  variations  in  motives  are 
in  connection  with  the  seat  of  the  coronation,  the  attending  throng, 
and  the  disappearance  of  the  sire  king  at  the  conclusion.  Dry- 
den has  Mac  Flecknoe  erect  Shadwell's  throne  in  the  nursery,  a 
training  school  for  young  actors,  which  is  situated  near  the  Bar- 
bican, formerly  a  watchtower,  but  now  a  ruin  surrounded  by 
brothel  houses.  He  has  Decker  prophesy  that  a  prince  of  dull- 
ness should  reign  here,  while  Wernicke  substitutes  a  witch  for 
Decker. 

In  Mac  Flecknoe  the  throng  comes  to  the  crowning  festivity 
from  "  near  Bunhill  and  distant  Watling  Street,"  London  ceme- 
teries, while  in  Hans  ^'acAj  Wernicke  prefers  to  have  it  come  from 
"Dreck  wall,"  "Mistberg"  and  "  Gänse-Marckt,"^^  thereby  sub- 
stituting for  the  throng  of  the  forgotten  past,  the  living  rabble 
inhabiting  Hamburg. 

Dryden's  motive  of  having  Mack  Flecknoe  disappear  through  a 
trap  door,  is  a  parody  on  Shadwell's  play,  Virtuoso,  in  which 
Bruce  and  Longville,  two  of  the  characters,  make  a  third,  Sir 
Formal  Trifle,  similarly  disappear.  Wernicke  apparently  was 
pleased  with  the  motive,  and  finding  no  parallel  in  Postel's  Works, 
has  "  V-1 "  ( Vogel), ^^  who  sang  the  comical  roles  in  Postel's 
operas,  manipulate  the  trap  door  which  sent  Hans  Sachs  beneath. 

34  Shadwell  claimed  to  have  assisted  in  composing  the  music  for  his 
operas,  hence  Dryden  has  him  perform  on  the  lute,  while  Postel  paraded 
his  performing  on  the  piano,  which  Wernicke  ridiculed. 

35  While  these  ludicrous  names  of  streets  in  Hamburg  are  not  neces- 
sarily in  the  slum  district,  yet  they  were  supposed  to  suggest  the  rabble. 

3ß  Bodmer  (Critische  Schriften,  1741)  in  a  footnote  to  his  first  edition 
of  Hans  Sachs  says :  "  Vogel  war  ein  Sänger  in  der  Opera,  der  die  lustige 
Partien  von  Posteis  Erfindung  abzusingen  pflegte,  und  dem  zu  gefallen 
der  Pöfel  sehr  in  die  Opera  lief." 

300 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany 


13 


The  influence  of  Dryden  upon  Wernicke  is  conclusively  proven 
by  the  direct  translation.  Not  only  did  he  follow  the  general 
plan  of  Mac  Flecknoe  in  Hans  Sachs  and  incorporate  many  of 
the  motives  but  he  has  also  translated  a  large  number  of  the  lines, 
either  word  for  word,  or  freely  adopted  them  in  his  satire,  espe- 
cially in  the  first  edition.  Nevertheless,  the  omission  of  "aus  dem 
Englischen  übersetzet"  in  the  title  of  the  second  edition  is  justi- 
fied. He  has  expanded  Mac  Flecknoe,  which  has  217  lines,  into 
a  German  satire  of  26g.  The  material  he  rejected  in  Dryden's 
satire  dealt  with  literary  conditions  in  England  which  would  not 
apply  to  the  literary  conditions  in  Germany ;  and  the  new  material 
introduced  has  to  do  entirely  with  literary  and  personal  criticism 
of  Postel,  and  literary  conditions  of  Hamburg  and  Germany.  The 
connecting  links  show  the  larger  percentage  of  parallel  lines.  The 
parallel  lines  follow : 


Dryden 

1/2.     All  human  things  are  subject 

to  decay 
And,    when    fate    summons,    mon- 

archs   must   obey. 

3.     This  Flecknoe  found,  who  .  . 
had  governed  long, 

5/6.  In  prose  and  verse  was  owned 
without   dispute 

Through  all  the  realm  of  Non- 
sense absolute. 

7/9.  This  aged  prince,  now  flour- 
ishing in  peace 

And  blest  with  issue  of  a  large 
increase, 

Worn  out  with  business,  did  at 
length  debate 

10.  To  settle  the  succession  of  the 

state; 

11.  And  pondering  which  of  all  his 

sons  was  fit 
12/14.     To     reign    and    wage     im- 
mortal war  with  wit, 


Wernicke 

1/2.  Was  Irrdisch  ist,  vergeht; 
was  Menschlich  ist  nimmt  ab 

Und  ein  Monarch  fällt  selbst, 
wenn's  Schicksal  winckt,  ins 
Grab. 

3.  Diss  wurd  Hans  Sachs  gewahr, 
der  Deutschland  lang  be- 
herrscht. 

5/6.  Der  in  der  Dummheit  Reich, 
sonst  Lobesan  genannt, 

Durch  Reim  ohn'  allen  Streit  er- 
hielt die  Oberhand. 

7/9.  Lang  war  in  Fried'  und  Ruh 
ihm  wiedrigs  nicht  begegnet. 

Er  fand  mit  manchem  Sohn  Unzehl- 
bar  sich  gesegnet ; 

Doch  alt,  und  durch  die  Last  der 
Sorgen   matt  gemacht, 

10.  So  war  er,  wer  im  Reich'ihm 

folgen  solt,  bedacht. 

11.  Er    dachte    welchem    Sohn    es 

möchte    meist   gebühren, 
12/14.     Unendlich  Zanck  und  Streit 
mit  der  Vernunft  zu  führen. 


301 


H 


Milton  D.  Baumgartner 


Cried,  "'Tis  resolved,  for  Nature 
pleads    that    he 

Should  only  rule  who  most  re- 
sembles me. 

15.  Shadwcll  alone  my  perfect 
image  bears, 

17.  Shadwell  alone  of  all  my  sons 
is  he 

18/19.  Who  stands  confirmed  in 
full   stupidity. 

The  rest  to  some  faint  meaning 
make  pretence, 

20.  But  Shadwell  never  deviates 
into  sense. 

21/24.  Some  beams  of  wit  on  other 
souls   may   fall, 

Strike  through  and  make  a  lucid 
interval; 

But  Shadwell's  genuine  night  ad- 
mits no  ray, 

His  rising  fogs  prevail  upon  the 
day. 

25.  Besides  his  goodly   fabric  fills 

the  eye 

26.  And      seems      designed       for 

thoughtless  majesty. 
29.     Heywood  and  Shirley  were  but 

types  of  thee, 
30/31.     Thou  last  great  prophet  of 

tautology. 
Even   I,  a  dunce  of   more   renown 

than  they, 
32.     Was    sent   before    but   to   pre- 
pare the  way, 
34.     To    teach    the   nations    in    thy 

greater    name. 
37.     My  warbling  lute  was  but  the 

prelude  to  that  glorious  day, 
43     Me  thinks  I  see  the  new  Arion 

sail, 
60.     Here  stopped  the  good  old  sire 

and  wept  for  joy, 


Und   ruft':  Es  ist  gesehen!     Denn 

Hertz   und   Neigung  schlisst, 
Dass  dieser  herrschen  soll,  der  mir 

meist  ähnlich  ist. 
15.     Mein  Stelpo  alleine  zeigt  mein 

Bild  an  seiner  Stirn, 
19.     Mein  Stelpo  allein  ist  der  von 

allen   meinen   Söhnen, 
22/23.     Und    die   Undeutligkeit   am 

klarsten   uns   vorstellt. 
Der     andern     Meynung    kan    man 

noch  mit  Müh'  errahten, 
26.     Und  auch  im  rechten  Weg'  aus 

Irrthum  sich  nie  findt. 
27/30.     Bissweilen    fällt   ein    Funck 

von  Witz  an  andrer  Seele, 
Und  blitzt  ein  kurtzes  Licht  durch 

die  verstockte  Hole; 
Nur  Stelpos  Grönlands  Nacht  duldt 

keinen  solchen  Riss, 
Kenn't   nichts    als    dürre   Kalt   und 

dicke  Finsternüss. 
31.    Zu   dem   so   findt   man  gleich, 

wenn       man       sein       Antlitz 

schauet, 
SS.     Dass  Unbedachtsamkeit  in  vol- 
ler Majestät 
39.     Zes'     Zeidler,     Schoch — sind — 

nur  arme  Sünder;  .  .  . 
42-43.     Du    groszer    Patriarch    von 

der   Pritzmeisterey. 
Ich  selbst  ein  Dudentopf  berühmter 

als  die  andern, 

45.  Auf    dass    ich    dir    den    Weg 

bereitete,  O  Held, 

46.  Und    deinem    gröszern    Ruhm 

verkündigte  der  Welt. 
53.     Doch  war  mein  Dudclsack  ein 

Vorspiel  nur  von  dir, 
55.     Mich    dünckt,    ich    hör    anitzt 

dich   neuen   Orpheus  spielen. 
S7/88.     Hier  schwieg,  gleich  als  vor 

Freuden  entzückt,  der  Greis, 

und    weint 


302 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany 


15 


61.  In  silent  raptures  of  the  hope- 
ful boy. 

85/88.  Here  Flecknoe,  as  a  place 
to  fame  well  known, 

Ambitiously  designed  his  Shad- 
well's  throne. 

For  ancient  Decker  prophecied  long 
since 

That  in  this  pile  should  reign  a 
mighty  prince. 

89.  Born  for  a  scourge  of  wit  and 
flail  of  sense, 

94/95.  Now  empress  Fame  had 
published  the  renown 

Of    Shadwell's   coronation   through 

the  town. 
96/97.     Roused  by  report  of   fame, 

the  nations  meet 
From    near     Bunhill     and     distant 

Watling-street. 
98/99.     No   Persian   carpets   spread 

the  imperial  way, 

But  scattered  limbs  of  mangled 
poets  lay; 

103.  But  loads  of  Shadwell  almost 
chocked    the   way. 

104/105.  Bilked  stationers  for  yeo- 
men stood   prepared 

And  Herringman^''  was  captain  of 
the  guard. 

106/107.  The  hoary  prince  in 
majesty  appeared, 

High  on  a  throne  of  his  own  labor 
reared. 

109.  Rome's  other  hope  and  pillar 
of  the  state. 

110/ 111.  His  brow  thick  fogs  in- 
stead of  glories  grace, 

And  lambent  dulness  played  around 
his  face. 


Die  er  an  seinem  Sohn  erlebt,  und 
fing  mit  beyden  .  .  . 

121/124.  Hans  Sachs  hatt  dieses 
Haus  vor  allen  wehrt  ge- 
schätzt. 

Und  hier  des  Stelpos  Thron  ehr- 
geitzig  hingesetzt: 

Denn  es  wüste  eine  Hex  schon  lang 
vorher  zu  sagen, 

Dass  ein  Tyrann  allhier  .  .  . 

127.     Geborn   dem   Witz   zu   Trotz, 

und  der  Vernunft  zur  Bürd'. 
128/129.     Nun    hatte    Fama    schon 

(2d      edit.),      die      nie      mit 

Schweigen   sündigt, 
Des     Stelpos    Kröhnungs-Tag    der 

gantzen  Stadt  verkündigt, 
130/131.     Es  kahm'ein  grosses  Volk 

das  Haus  und  Holf  Hess  leer, 
Biss    zu    dem    Gänse-Marckt    vom 

Dreckwall,  Mistberg  her. 
132/133.     Der  Weg  war  nicht   wie 

sonst    belegt    mit    köstlichen 

Tapeten 
Statt   derer  lagen   hier  viel   Bogen 

der  Poeten. 
137.     Doch    Stelpos    eigene   Werck' 

erstickten  all  die  andern : 
138/139.     Betrogene  Drucker  War'n 

anstat  der  Leibwach'  hier. 
Und     S 38     ging     behertzt     als 

Haubtmann  allen   für. 
140/141.     Vor'm   Fürsten    sah   man 

zuletzt  das  Volck  sich  neigen, 
Und  ihn  den  Thron,  den  er  selbst 

aufgericht,  besteigen, 
Und  ihm  zur  rechten  Hand,  Roms 

andre  Hoffnung  saas. 
144/145.       Er      war      mit      dicken 

Dampf   gleich   einer   Wolck'- 

umfangen. 
Und  kecke  Dumheit  spielt  'um  die 

verwelckte  Wangen. 


303 


i6 


Milton  D.  Baumgartner 


112/113.     As    Hannibal    did    to    the 

altars  come, 
Sworn  by  his  sire  a  mortal  foe  to 

Rome ; 
114.     So      Shadwell      swore,      nor 

should  his  vow  be  vain, 
115/117.     That    he    till    death    true 

dullness  would  maintain; 
And,     in     his     father's     right    and 

realm's   defense, 
Ne'er   to  have  peace  with  wit  nor 

truce  with  sense. 
118.     The  king  himself  the   sacred 

unction  made, 
126/127.     His    temples,    last,    with 

poppies  were  o'erspread, 
That    nodding    seemed    to     conse- 
crate his  head. 
128/129.    Just  at  that  point  of  time, 

if   fame  not  lie. 
On  his   left  hand  twelve   reverend 

owls  did  fly, 
130/136.     So  Romulus,  'tis  sung,  by 

Tiber's  brook, 
Presage    of    sway    from    twice    six 

vultures  took. 
The  admiring  throng  loud  acclama- 
tions make 
And    omens    of    his    future    empire 

take. 
The   sire   then    shook    the   honours 

of  his  head. 
And  from  his  brow  damps  of  ob- 
livion shed. 
Full  on  the  filial  dullness :  long  he 

stood, 
138.     At    length    burst    out    in    this 

prophetic   m.ood : 
139/142.     Heavens    bless    my    son ! 

from  Ireland  let  him  reign 
To   far   Barbadoes  on  the  western 

main ; 
Of   his    dominion    may    no   end   be 

known 


146/147.      Als      einsten      Hannibal, 

vors  Vatters  Altar  tobt. 
Und   ewige    Feindschafft   Rom    mit 

einem   Eid  anlobt' 
148.     So   schwur  auch   Stelpo  hier, 

und  wahrlich  nicht  vergebens 
149/151.     Dass     er     wolt'unermüdt 

Zeit  seines  gantzen  Lebens 
Ein     Feind     der     Reinlichkeit     der 

deutschen   Sprache  seyn, 
Und  keinen  Frieden  nicht  mit  der 

Vernunft  gehn  ein, 
152.     Der  König  wolt'auch  jetzt  die 

Salbung  selbst  verrichten, 

156.  Ihm  wurd  hernach  ein  Krantz 
von   Blumen  aufgesetzet, 

157.  Itzt    sinckend    als    im    Schlaf 

sich  neigten  vor  der  Stirn. 
160/161.     Zwölff    Eulen    sähe    man, 

wenn  nicht  die  Leute  lügen. 
Im    selben    Augenblick    Ehrwürdig 

vor  ihm  fliegen ; 
162/168.     Und  weil  die  Adler  einst 

den  Euln  in  Anzahl  gleich. 
Dem   kühnen    Romulus    verkündig- 
ten das  Reich, 
So  wurd  auch  jetzt  vom  Volck  die 

Deutung  angenommen, 
Und  jeder  strebt  im  Wunsch  dem 

andern  vorzukommen. 
Es    war    der    alte    Greyss    hierüber 

sehr  erfreut, 
Und   schüttelte  vom   KopfT  Dämpf 

der  Vergessenheit 
An     seines     Sohnes     Stirn.     Lang 

stand  er  wie  entzücket, 
170.     Zuletzt  brach  der  prophet  in 

diese   Wörter   aus : 
I7i/i73-     r^er    Himmel    segne   dich 

du  Zier  von  meinem  Hauss, 
Dass    deine    Herrschafft    nie    mög' 

seines   gleichen   haben, 
Und    sich    von    Schweitzerland    er- 
strecke bis  in   Schwaben 


304 


Dryden's  Relation   to    Germany 


17 


And   greater    than   his    father's    be 

his  throne; 
144.     He  paused,  and  all  the  people 

cried  "  Amen." 
145/146.     Then  thus  continued  he : 

"  My  son  advance 
Still  in  new  impudence,  new  ignor- 
ance. 
147/148.     Success   let   others   teach, 

learn  thou  from  me 
Pangs    without   birth    and    fruitless 

industry. 
149/151.     Let    "  Virtusos "    in    five 

years   be   writ, 

Yet    not    one    thought    accuse    thy 

toil  of  wit. 
Let    gentle    George    (Etherege)    in 

triumph  tread  the  stage, 

154.     And   in   their   folly  show  the 

writer's  wit. 
155/156.    Yet   still   thy    fools    shall 

stand  in  thy  defence 
And   justify   thy   author's   want   of 

sense. 
157/162.     Let  them  all  by  thy  own 

model  made 
Of  dullness  and  desire  no   foreign 

aid, 
That  they   to   future  ages   may   be 

known, 
Not    copies    drawn,    but    issue    of 

thy  own. 
Nay,  let  thy  men  of  wit  too  be  the 

same, 
All   full  of  thee  and   differing  but 

in  name. 
165.     And    when    false    flowers    of 

rhetoric  thou  wouldst  cull 
166/167.     Trust     nature,     do     not 

labor  to  be  dull; 
But   write    thy    best    and    top,    and 

in  each  line 


175.  Und  man  den  Vater  kaum  er- 
kenne vor  dem  Sohn, 

177.  Er  schwieg,  und  alles  Volck 
sagt' :  Aman. 

178/179.  Hernach  so  fuhr  er  fort: 
Mein  liebster  Sohn  nimm  du 

Beyds  in  Unwissenheit  und  in  Un- 
verschämtheit  zu. 

181/183.  Lern'aber  du  von  mir 
arbeiten  ohne  Nutzen ; 

Lern  wie  man  lange  Zeit  in  Kindes- 
Nöhten  ringt, 

185.  Und  (lass)  Lohenstein  und 
Gryph  ein  prächtig  Trauer- 
spiel,   Schreiben, 

188.  Lass  die  mit  groszer  Müh'oft 
Jahr  und  Tag  nachsinnen, 

194.  Lass  ihn  (Bostel)  wie  im 
Triumpf  deine  Bühn  be- 
ziehen, 

197.  Und  des  Verfassers  Witz  in 
deiner  Thorheit  zeigen; 

198/199.  Weil  jeder  Narr  den  du 
in  deinem   Singspiel  weist, 

Dein  wahres  Bildnüs  ist,  und  ewig 
Stelpo  heisst. 


Mach,  dass  man  nicht  erkenn,  wem 

du  den  Vorzug  giebst, 
Und   dass   du   als   Papa   die   gleich 

mit  j  ebnen  liebst. 
200/203.     Lass    deine    Helden    auch 

mit  jenen  sich  verpaaren 
Und    unterscheid    sie    im    Nahmen 

mit  den  Narren. 
204.     Sieh'  aber  zu,  wenn  du  nach 

Reim,  und  Versen   fühlest. 
206/207.       Vertrau       der       Natur, 

schreib  was  dir  erst  fällt  ein. 
Und  brich  dir  nicht  den  Kopf  ein 

Dudentopf  zu  sein. 
208/209.     Lass  deine  Feder  nicht  an 

Fremdling  sich  vergaffen; 


305 


'  i  IL, .         ««■ 


i8 


Milton  D.  Baumgartner 


171/172.  Nor  let  false  friends 
seduce  thy  mind  to  fame 

By  arrogating  Jonson's  hostile 
name; 

175.  Thou  art  my  blood,  where 
Jonson  has  no  part; 

183.  Promised  a  play  and  dwin- 
dled to  a   farce? 

199/201.  With  whatever  gall  thou 
setst  thyself  to  write 

Thy  inoffensive  satires  never 
bite; 

In     thy     felonious     heart     though 

venom  lies ; 
210/214.     He     said,     but     his     last 

words  were  scarcely  heard, 
For  Bruce  and  Longville  had  a  trap 

prepared, 
And    down    they    sent   the   yet    de- 
claiming bard. 
Sinking    he    left    his    drugget    robe 

behind, 
216/217.     The    mantel    fell    to    the 

young  prophet's  part 
With     a     double     portion     of     his 

father's  art. 


Was  hat  Euripides  mit  dir  und  mir 

zu   schaffen, 
211.     Du   bist   mein   Blutt,   an   dem 

hat  dieser  gar  kein  Theil. 
254/255.     Und    weil    er    einst    ent- 
fernt die  Traur-Spiel  von  der 

Heard, 
So  mach  das  die  verkehrt  zu  einem. 

Lust-Spiel  werd'. 
232/233.    Zeig,   dass   dein   frevlend 

Hertz     viel     Gall     und     Gift 

umstricke 

Ob  Taratantel  gleich  es  gleich  nur 

Lachen   wircke; 
264/269.     Er  sagt',  und  hatte  kaum 

das   letzte   Wort   gesprochen, 
Als   V — 1  welchen  hier   den    falsch 

Grund    gebrochen, 
Ihn  taumelnd  unter  sich  auf  einem 

Fallbrett  sandt' ; 
Er  sanck,  und  Hess'  in  Eil  zu  einem 

Unterpfand 
Sein  Schurtzfell  Stelpo  nach,  woria 

er  mit  viel  Segen 
Verduppelt  seine  Kunst. 


But  Wernicke  did  more  than  transform  an  English  satire  into 
a  genuine  German  satire.  Through  Hans  Sachs  he  introduced  a 
direct  personal  literary  criticism  which  since  the  time  of  Gottfried 
von  Strassburg,  had  not  existed  in  Germany.  Hans  Sachs  and 
Postel  represent  two  widely  divergent  extremes  in  poetic  form. 
At  the  one  extreme  stands  Hans  Sachs,  the  best  representative 
author  of  the  deteriorated  poetry  of  the  sixteenth  century  "  Meis- 
tersänger "  with  its  unpoetic  "  Knittelvers  " ;  at  the  other  extreme 

37  Herringman  was  a  noted  printer  of  that  time.  Formerly  he  was- 
Dryden's  printer  and  Shadwell  made  him  a  journeyman  of  Herringman 
in  the  satire  against  him.     Globe  edition,  p.  147.     Note. 

28  S was    Spiering,     Postel's    printer.     See    Bodmer    in    Critische- 

Schriften,  p.   127,  1741. 

306 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  19 

is  Postal,  a  representative  writer  of  the  highly  picturesque  and 
bombastic  poetry  borrowed  from  the  Italian,  Marino,  with  its 
French  imported  Alexandrines.  Hence  this  direct  personal  criticism 
of  Hans  Sachs  and  Postel  is  of  greater  significance  than  a  mere  per- 
sonal lampoon,  as  it  is  a  real  criticism  of  existing  literary  defects ; 
and  like  Dryden  in  Mac  Flecknoe,  Wernicke  in  Hans  Sachs  ex- 
tended his  criticism  to  other  poets  and  their  works. 

Before  resorting  to  the  satire,  Wernicke  had  endeavored  to  re- 
form the  poetry  of  his  country  by  frankly  and  directly  pointing 
out  its  insipidity,  as  is  evident  from  the  foreword  of  his  works 
(1704  Edition) ^^  Although  his  ideals  were  in  advance  of  the 
times  and  were  rejected  by  his  contemporaries,  his  introduction 
of  the  satire  with  the  exaggerated  personalities,  paved  the  way  for 
the  toleration  and  appreciation  of  sane,  direct  personal  literary 
criticism. 

a.  Hunold's  Connection  with  Hans  Sachs 

The  satire  also  brought  literary  cliques  and  encouraged  literary 
feuds,  such  as  the  one  now  in  progress  at  Hamburg,  and  the  later 
Swiss-Gottsched  and  Lessing-Klotz  controversies.  In  Hamburg 
the  feud  between  Wernicke  and  Postel  had  run  its  course,  but  the 
influence  of  Mac  Flecknoe  continued  indirectly  through  Hans 
Sachs.  The  controversy  was  now  taken  up  by  Christian  Fried- 
rich  Hunold  (1680-1721),  a  debauched  Hamburg  opera  writer. 
Under  the  pretense  of  defending  Hoffmannswaldau  he  entered 
the  field  against  Wernicke  with  a  satirical  comedy,  Dem  Thö- 
richten  Prietschmeister,  oder  Schivermenden  Poeten,  in  einer  lusti- 
gen Comoede  (Coblentz,  1704). 

In  the  preface  Menantes  (Hunold's  assumed  name)  says  that 
he  is  entering  the  controversy,  since  Wernicke  had  "  einen  ge- 

39 "  Man  hält  davor;  und  man  hoffet  es  werde  dem  Verfasser  von 
keinem  vernünfftigen  Menschen  übel  gedeutet  werden,  dass  er  seine 
Meinung  so  f  rey  heraus  saget."  ..."  Man  ist  gäntzlich  der  Meinung,  dass 
was  die  Frantzösische  Schreib-Art  zu  der  heutigen  Vollkommenheit  ge- 
bracht hat,  meistenteils  daher  rühre;  dass  sobald  nicht  ein  gutes  Buch 
an  das  Licht  kommt,  dass  nicht  demselben  eine  sogenannte  Critique  gleich 
auf  den  Fuss  nachfolgen  solte, — Sintemahl  dadurch  ohne  alle  Ergernüss 
dem  Leser  den  Verstand  geöffnet,  und  der  Verfasser  in  gebührenden 
Schrancken  gehalten  wird." 


20  Milton  D.  Bamngartner 

lehrten  unci  wohlangesehnen  Mann  auf  das  schäntlichste  in  einem 
Pasquil,  Hans  Sachs  genannt,  angegriffen, — und  mir  durch  die 
gröbsten  und  unflätigsten  Columnien  die  Feder  aus  der  Hand 
gerissen."^"  The  theme  is  the  same  as  in  the  original.  Wernicke 
is  the  prince  of  dullness  (Erzprietschmeister),  and  in  the  form 
of  an  anagram  two  fool  roles  are  assigned  to  him  in  the  comedy. 
As  "  Wecknarr  "  he  is  the  arch-fool,  and  as  "  Narrweck  "  he  is  a 
merry  fool  of  the  vulgar  type  who  falls  in  love  with  the  daughter 
of  a  cobbler  and  marries  her.  The  motives  found  in  Hans  Sachs 
which  he  borrows  are:  the  crowning  of  the  opponent  (with  pitch 
instead  of  flowers)  ;  the  blessing  pronounced  by  the  spirit  of  Hans 
Sachs,  who  crowns  him  as  his  successor  as  king  of  poets,  which 
runs : 

"  Ich    segne   dich :    sey   dum 

In  lästern  sey  nicht  stum 

Was  gleich  ist  mache  krum 

Und  frage  nichts  darum." 

the  quotations  from  and  parodies  on  the  works  of  the  opponent 
(found  largely  in  voluminous  foot-notes)  ;  the  accusation  of 
plagiarism  (dwelt  upon  at  great  length  although  unfounded)  ;  the 
music  motive  (introducing  the  bagpipe  and  the  lute)  ;  the  motive 
that  Wernicke's  works  were  unsold  (and  were  in  junk  shops)  ; 
and  finally  the  personal  ridicule  of  the  opponent  which  deterio- 
rates into  personal  abuse. 

b.  Bodmers  Connection  zvitJi  Hans  Sachs 

The  influence  of  Dryden  continued  indirectly  through  the  re- 
vival of  Hans  Sachs.  After  the  Hamburg  literary  feud,  Hans 
Sachs  disappeared  for  a  time,  but  was  again  revived  in  the  next 
great  literary  controversy  which  took  place  between  Bodnier  and 
Gottsched  and  their  allies.     In  this  controversy  Bodmer  intro- 

4"  Hunold  refers  to  the  epigram,  "  An  den  Deutschen  Maevius  "  begin- 
ning: 

"  Freund  hast  du  keinen  Witz,  und  willst  doch  etwas  schreiben 
Das  dem  Verleger  nicht  soll  auf  dem  Halse  Bleiben," 
which  Wernicke  directed  against  him  for  the  numerous  attacks  since  the 
appearance  of  Hans  Sachs.     See  Palaestra,  p.  42  ff. 

308 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  2 1 

duced  Wernicke's  satire  as  a  "  Streitschrift "  against  his  oppo- 
nents. Although  primarily  interested  in  the  religious  epic,  like 
Dryden,  the  satire  always  fascinated  Bodmer.  As  early  as  1720, 
he  was  planning  to  write  satires."  In  1737  he  translated  two 
books  of  Butler's  Hndibras*-  and  ten  years  later  Pope's  Diin- 
ciad,^^  an  imitation  of  Mac  Flecknoe,  which  he  had  originally  in- 
tended to  adapt  to  German  conditions'**  as  Wernicke  had  Mac 
Flecknoe.  He  was  also  familiar  with  Swift's  The  Battle  of 
Books,  as  in  his  Charakter  der  Deutschen  Gedichte  (1734)  he 
adapts  Swift's  characterization  of  Dryden  to  Amthor,  a  contem- 
porary poet.*^  Together  with  Wieland,  Bodmer  w?rote  Edivard 
Grandison's  Geschichte  in  Görlitz,*^  as  a  reply  to  Schönaich's  Die 
ganze  Ästhetik  in  einer  Niiss*'^  and  he  also  encouraged  Wieland 
in  writing  the  Ankündigung  einer  Dnnciade  für  die  Deutschen}^ 
Bodmer  was  first  introduced  to  Hans  Sachs  through  a  letter 
from  J.  U.  König,  dated  March  28,  1724,-*^  in  which  Wernicke's 
works    and    the    Postel-Hunold-Wernicke    feuds    were    briefly 

"  Leonhard  Meister,  Ueber  Bodmer,  öffentlicher  Lehrer  der  Sittenlehre 
und  der  Geschichte  an  der  Kunstschule  su  Zürich.  Nebst  Fragmente  aus 
seinen  Briefen.  Zürich,  1783.  See  Bodmer's  letter  to  Meister  dated  May 
5,  1720,  p.  76. 

42  Versuch  einer  Deutschen  Uebersetzung  von  Samuel  Butlers  Hudibras, 
einem  Satyrischen  Gedichte  mider  die  Schweriner  und  Independenten,  zur 
Zeit  Carls  des  Ersten,  Franckfurt  und  Leipzig,  1737. 

^^  Alexander  Popens  Duncias  mit  Historischen  Noten  und  einem 
Schreiben  des  Uebersetzers  an  die  Obotriten,  Zürich,  1747. 

**  See  Introduction  to  the  Dnnciade  "  An  meine  Freunde  die  Obertriten  " 
and  his  letter  to  Sulzer,  September  12,  1747,  in  Briefen  der  Schzvcizer 
Bodmer,  Sulzer,  Gessner.  Aus  Gleims  lit.  Nachlasse,  by  W.  Körte,  p.  69, 
Zürich,  1804. 

*^  See  Bodmer  Denkschrift,  pp.  224-225. 

*^  See  Euphorion,  Vol.  18,  pp.  68-89,  and  Vol.  19,  pp.  66-91. 

*7  Die  ganze  Ästhetik  in  einer  Nuss,  oder  neologisches  Wörterbuch, 
Leipzig,  1754.  See  Lessing's  Review  in  the  Berlinischen  privil.  Zeitung, 
98.     Stück,  vom  15.    August,  1754. 

*^  Ankündigung  einer  Dnnciade  für  die  Deutschen.  Nebst  dem  verbes- 
serten Hermann,  Frankfurt  und  Leipzig,  1755.  Gessner,  Gleim,  Sulzer 
and  Ramler  took  an  active  interest  in  this  work.  See  Körte,  Loco  citato, 
p.  228  ff.,  p.  234  ff.,  p.  245  ff. 

*^  Literarische  Pamphlete  aus  der  Schweiz,  p.  32  ff.,  Zürich,  1781. 

309 


2  2  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

sketched.  König  paid  a  high  tribute  to  Wernicke  and  saw  in 
Hans  Sachs  a  "  Stachelschrift  von  solcher  Schönheit,  Stärke, 
spitziger,  feiner  und  scherzhafter  Lebendigkeit,"  which  could 
be  used  in  a  literary  controversy,  and  he  himself  planned  to  re- 
cdit  it  and  use  it  against  Brockes  and  the  Hamburg  poets  but  his 
plan  miscarried. ^°  In  the  following  year,  as  is  seen  from  his 
lettcr^^  to  Bodmer,  dated  April  30,  1725,  König  sent  him  a  trans- 
cript of  Hans  Sachs  as  well  as  a  copy  of  Hunold's  Des  Thörichten 
Prietschmeistcrs. 

Although  König  introduced  Wernicke  to  Bodmer,  to  Bodmer, 
however,  belongs  the  credit  of  introducing  him  to  Germany,  and 
through  his  publications  Wernicke  became  a  renowned  poet.  Bod- 
mer regarded  him  as  the  first  German  who  criticized  poetry 
frankly  and  independently  according  to  firmly  established  princi- 
ples.^^    The  treatise  on  imagination,^^  published  by  Bodmer  and 

so  See  letter  to  Bodmer,  June  27.  1726,  which  contains  a  list  of  the  pub- 
lications that  were  to  appear  in  the  Boberfeldischen  Gesellschaft.  No.  20 
was  "  Hans  Sachs,  Heldengedicht  mit  Erklärungen  der  dunckeln  Stellen  und 
Nachricht  von  dem  Autore  und  seinen  Gegnern."  Published  by  Brandl. 
Brockes,   p.    148  ff. 

51  See  letter  published  by  Brandl  in  Anglia,  Vol.  I,  p.  460  ff .  König 
sent  Bodmer  a  partial  translation  of  "  Paradise  Lost"  by  Haake  and  "  Das 
andre  ist  das  Heldengedicht  Hans  Sachs,  welches  ich  abschreiben  lassen 
und  unter  welcher  eigenhändig  die  Anmerkungen  dazu  gesezt,  die  wenigen 
bekannt  wie  mir,  ..." 

52 "  Er  urtheilte  auf  festgesetzte  und  beständige  Grundsätze ;  welches 
vor  ihm  noch  keiner  gethan  hatte.  Er  betrachtete  die  Gedichte  der  Deut- 
schen ohne  Vorurtheile,  und  sah  auf  die  Wahrheit  der  Sache  und  nicht 
auf  das  Aussehen  oder  den  Beifall  anderer.  Aufrichtigkeit  und  Freiheit, 
mit  Bescheidenheit  ohne  Schmeichelei,  führten  ihm  die  Feder."  See  Nach- 
richt von  dem  Ursprung  der  Kritik  bei  den  Deutschen,  in  Grit.  Schriften, 
I,  Part  I,  103,  1741. 

53  Von  dem  Einfluss  und  Gebrauch  der  Einbildungs-Kraft ;  cur  Aus- 
besserung des  Geschmackes.  .  .  .  Frankfurt  und  Leipzig,  1727.  Prior  to 
this  in  the  critical  poems,  Charakter  der  Teutschen  Gedichte  (1734),  he 
lauds  Wernicke's  keen  criticism 

"  Den  scharfen  Wernicke,  der  Wahr  und  Falsch  nicht  mengte, 
Und  seinen  reinen  Witz  mit  Unwitz  nicht  besprengte 
Der  das  geschminkte  Nichts  in  Waldaus  Lied  erkannt. 
Und  der's  auch  ohne  Furcht  ein  buntes  Nichts  genannt.  .  .  ." 
J  quote  from  "  Kritischen  Lobgedichten  und  Elegien,"  p.  40,  Zürich,  174". 

310 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  23 

Breitinger  in  1727,  shows  the  influence  of  the  rational  criticism 
of  Wernicke.  In  the  introduction,  Bodmer  quotes  from  Hans 
Sachs,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  substantiate  his  contention  that 
German  poets  do  not  base  their  criticism  on  reason  and  only  inci- 
dentally criticize  justly,  "wie  Hr.  Warneck  sich  ausdrücket,  aus 
Irrthum  sich  auf  dem  rechten  Wege  finden."^*  This  results  in 
romantic  heroes  in  the  tragedy,  and  clowns  (Hans-Würste)  in  the 
comedy. 

During  his  controversy  with  Gottsched,  Bodmer  edited  and  four 
times  published  Hans  Sachs  with  commentaries  :^°  in  a  satire 
against  the  Leipzig  school  he  borrowed  motives  from  it;^®  in  his 
•discussion  of  Wernicke  in  the  treatise  on  the  origin  of  German 
criticism  he  dealt  with  it  and  with  Dem  Thörichten  Prietsch- 
meister;^''  and  in  the  discussion  of  the  German  theater  he  quoted 
from  it.^^    In  the  preface  and  footnotes  of  the  first  edition  (1741), 

s*  Wernicke  lines  25-26  are : 

"  Mein  Stelpo  ist's  allein,  der  niemals  nicht  nachsinnt, 
Und  auch  im  rechten  Weg',  aus  Irrthum  sich  nie  findt." 
S5  First  time  in  Sammlung  Critischer,  Poetischer,  und  anderer  geistvoller 
Schriften,  Zur  Verbesserung  des  Urtheils  und  des  IVices  in  den  Wercken 
der  Wohlredenheit  und  der  Poesie,  I,  Part  I,  p.  44  ff-,  Zürich,  Bey  Conrad 
Orell  und  Comp,  1741. 

Second  time  in  his  first  complete  edition  of  Wernicke,  N.  Wernnikens, 
ehemaligen  Königl.  Dänischen  Staatsraths,  und  Residenten  in  Paris, 
Poetische  Versuche  in  U  eher  Schriften;  Wie  auch  in  Helden-  und  Schäfer- 
gedichten. Neue  und  verbesserte  Auflage.  P.  115  ff.  Zürich,  bey  David 
Gessner,  Gebrüdere,  1749. 

Third  time  in  Sammlung  der  Zürcherischen  Streitschriften  zur  Ver- 
besserung des  Deutschen  Geschmackes,  wider  die  Gottschedische  Schule, 
von  1741  bis  1744.  Vollständig  in  XII.  Stücken.  Neue  Ausgabe.  II,  part 
I,  Zürich,  Bey  Conrad  Orell  und  Comp.,  1753. 

Fourth  time,  reprint  of  the  1749  edition,  1763. 
^6  "  Das  Complot  der  herrschenden  Poeten,"  in  Grit.  Schriften,  part  3. 
1742. 

^"  "  Nachricht  von  dem  Ursprung  der  Kritik  bei  den  Deutschen."  In 
Grit.  Schriften  I,  Part  i,  pp.  83-180,  1741. 

^8  Gritische  Betrachtungen  und  freye  Untersuchungen  cum  Aufnehmen 
und  Verbesserung  der  deutschen  Schau-Bühne,  mit  einer  Zuschrift  an  die 
Frau  Neuberin.  Bern,  1743.  Bodmer  attributes  the  popularity  of  Gott- 
sched's  play   to   the  actors   who   performed   them,   just   as   Wernicke   at- 

^11 


24  Milton  D.  Bamngariner 

Bodmer  sets  forth  his  reasons  for  bringing  Hans  Sachs  to  light 
again.  He  esteems  this  satire  for  its  literary  qualities,  and  not 
because  it  is  a  controversial  pamphlet  (Zeitungsblatt).  The  many 
witty  jests,  the  instructive  raillery,  the  manner  of  expression,  the 
ideas,  and  pictures  (Gemälde)  it  contains  per  se  appeal  to  him. 
Then,  too,  he  believes  there  are  still  many  fools  among  the  poets 
of  his  own  time  who  might  profit  by  reading  such  a  satire.^^ 

That  he  regarded  Gottsched  a  "  Stelpo,"  is  evident  from  lines 
39-40. 

"  Schoch,  Zeidler,  Zes'  und  Titz,  und  andre  Reim-Erfinder 
Sind,  wann  man  sie  mit  dir  vergleicht,  nur  arme  Sünder."^'' 

Bodmer  again  in  1753  directly  connects  Gottsched  and  his  school 
with  Hans  Sachs,  as  is  evident  from  the  collection  of  treatises 
published  under  the  title :  Zürcherischen  Streitschriften — ivider 
die  Gottschedische  Schule.  Hans  Sachs  is  published  in  this  col- 
lection. The  four  editions  by  Bodmer  bespeak  the  wide  circula- 
tion which  this  satire  enjoyed  during  the  time  when  the  Swiss- 
Leipzig  controversy  was  in  progress. 

The  year  following  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  Ha)is 
Sachs,  Bodmer  published  a  prose  satire,  Das  Complot  der  lierr- 
schenden  Poeten  against  the  Leipzig  school  of  poets.  Motives 
for  this  were  taken  from  Hans  Sachs  and  the  Dunciad.  Bodmer 
compares  himself  to  Wernicke  in  the  passage  which  he  uses  to 
prove  that  the  Gottsched  school  will  be  unsuccessful  in  the  en- 
deavor to  shelve  his  own  works.  "Wernicke  hatte  in  schweren 
Tagen  und  unter  einer  Welt  voll  Pfuscher  die  Rechte  der  gött- 

tributed  the  renown  of  Postel's  plays  to  the  actors  and  singers.  In  a 
footnote  (p.  51)  he  cites  sixteen  lines  from  Hans  Sachs  (lines  58-64). 

SD "  Er  (the  editor)  zweifelt  nicht,  dass  man  nicht  auf  den  heutigen 
Tag  noch  eine  zimliche  Anzahl  solcher  Stclpo  antreffen  werde,  welche  den 
ersten  Stelpo  nicht  verleugnen  können."  See  Bodmer's  introduction  to 
the  first  edition. 

60  In  a  note  to  Schoch  in  the  first  edition,  Bodmer  says :  "  Hr.  Gottsched 
leget  diesem  in  dem  Hauptstüke  seiner  "  Dichtkunst  für  die  Deutschen," 
wo  er  von  den  Hirtenliedern  handelt,  ein  grosses  Lob  bei,  und  meint  er 
habe  in  seinem  Blumengarten  viel  Ehre  eingeleget  .  .  .  Allein  die  Strophen 
die  er  zur  Probe  anführet,  und  vor  ungemein  ausgiebt,  bekräftigen  viel- 
mehr das  Urteil  unsers  Satyrici." 

312 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  25 

lichen  Chritik  heraus  gebracht  und  verfochten,  aber  ward  zur 
Strafe  in  die  unterirdischen  Gewölber  des  hamburgischen  Doms 
zu  Spirings  (Postel's  printer)  Makulatur  geworfen  .  .  .  .  ""^  In- 
stead of  making  a  dead  poet  the  hero  Bodmer  substitutes  "  den 
herrrschenden Geschmack"  (Gottsched's  taste).  His  hundred  sons 
(Wernicke's  countless  sons)  form  a  conspiracy  against  the  Swiss 
school,  "  each  of  whom  was  a  poet  king,  each  was  powerful  enough 
to  rule  the  monarchy  of  his  father."  They  make  speeches  similar 
to  the  monologues  in  Hans  Sachs  in  which  they  quote  and  parody 
their  own  works ;  they  are  attended  not  only  by  their  disappointed 
publishers  but  by  printers,  journalists,  and  all  connected  with  pub- 
lishing. Their  sire  king  appeared  to  them  as  a  spirit  (blue  vapor) 
which  assumed  the  form  of  a  throne  occupied  by  the  king  trans- 
formed into  human  shape.  Like  Flecknoe,  he  was  ridiculously 
large  and  wore  a  mantel  but  a  fool's  mantel.  Majesty  enveloped 
him  as  he  sat  upon  the  throne,  the  antichrist  (Dryden's  foe)  of 
wit.  The  sons  swear  allegiance  to  the  taste  in  their  own  works 
not  by  Loves  Kingdom  (a  play  of  Shadwell)  but  by  "  Stelpo," 
etc.,  and  vow  to  be  loyal  despite  proof,  reason,  and  the  ridicule  of 
satires.  The  blessing  pronounced  upon  them  by  the  sire  king 
also  contains  the  extent  of  the  realm,  "von  Pommern  bis  in 
Schwaben,  von  Crayon  bis  in  Westphalan."  "  Und  sich  von 
Schweitzerland  erstrecke  biss  in  Schwaben"  {H.  S.,  1.  173)."- 
Finally  at  the  conclusion  of  his  speech  the  king  disappears,  and 
his  spirit  in  the  form  of  a  cloud  settles  upon  each  of  his  sons  as  a 
portion  of  his  art  and  purifies  their  minds  of  reason.  Like  Dry- 
den  and  Wernicke,  Bodmer  criticizes  the  poets  and  the  poetry  of 
his  time  in  his  satire. 

c.  Ramlcr's  Connection  -inth  Hans  Sachs 

After  Bodmer,  Karl  Wilhelm  Ramler  (1725-1798)  was  the 
only  author  who  edited  Hans  Sachs  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
His  edition  contains  merely  the  first  sixty-nine  lines  of  Wernicke's 
satire,  and  is  only  incidentally  included  in  the  book  of  epigrams 

^1  Loco  citato,  p.  163. 

82  Bodmer,  Loco  citato,  p.  217. 


26  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

(among  which  were  many  of  Wernicke's)  edited  in  1780.°^  Like 
Lessing,  Ramler  had  a  great  fondness  for  the  epigram,  and 
together  they  had  edited  the  epigrams  of  Logau  (1759).  Several 
times  before  undertaking  this  edition,"*  in  which  he  was  encour- 
aged by  Lessing,*^'"'  he  alludes  to  Wernicke  in  his  criticism. 

Lessing  wrote  polemics  which  are  unquestionably  the  most  re- 
presentative of  the  direct  personal  criticism.  He  usually  contended 
for  a  principle,  attacking  the  opponent  and  pointing  out  the  fallacy 
of  the  principles  advocated  by  him.  At  times  he  holds  his  oppo- 
nent up  to  ridicule,  as  for  instance  Gottsched  in  the  seventeenth 
Literaturbrief,  or  Klotz  in  the  Antiquarischen  Briefen  (1768- 
1769).  Of  the  latter  the  fifty-first  to  the  fifty-seventh  are  entirely 
personal  and  in  the  fifty-fourth  he  quotes  from  Wernicke. *^°  The 
quotation  is  from  Wernicke's  most  scathing  epigram,  "  An  den 
Deutschen  Moevius,"  directed  against  Hunold,  which  in  spirit  and 
even  in  motives  is  akin  to  Dryden's  most  poignant  array  of  Shad- 
well  in  the  second  part  of  Absolom  and  Achitophel.  Lessing's 
familiarity  with  Dryden  and  Wernicke  and  his  keen  appreciation 
of  their  wit  make  it  probable  that  he  knew  both  Mac  Flecknoe  and 
Hans  Sachs,  but  as  he  only  planned  to  write  a  burlesque  epic"^ 
without  really  writing  a  satire,  he  neither  quotes  nor  cites  them ; 
but  after  his  combat  with  them,  Gottsched,  Klotz,  and  even  Goeze, 
were  fit  candidates  for  the  throne  of  Mac  Flecknoe  or  Stelpo. 

d.  Criticism  of  Mac  Flecknoe  and  Hans  Sachs  by  Other  German 

Critics 
Mac   Flecknoe   and   Hans  Sachs   are    frequently   referred   to 

^3  Christian  Wernickens  Ueberschriften.  Nebst  Opitzens,  Tischerings, 
Andreas  Gryphiiis  and  Adam  Olearius  epigrammatischen  Gedichten. 
Leipzig,  1780. 

6*1).  N.  L.  39,  p.  523. 

^^  See  letters  of  Lessing  to  Ramler  in  1779. 

66  "  Mein  wehrterster  Herr,  ein  andres  ist  es  einem  Weihrauch  streuen, 
und  ein  andres,  einem,  mit  Wernicke  zu  reden,  das  Rauchfass  um  den 
Kopf  zu  schmeiszen.  .  .  .  Ich  will  glauben,  dass  es  blosz  ihre  Ungeschick- 
lichkeit in  Schwenkung  des  Rauchfasses  ist:  aber  ich  habe  dem  ohnge- 
achtet  die  Beulen,  und  fühle  sie."  See  Lessings  Werke.  D.  N.  L.,  XIX, 
p.  241. 

6"  See  Pub.  of  the  Mod.  Lang.  Assn.,  p.  579  (1909). 

3H 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  27 

throughout  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  German 
critics  aside  from  Bodmer  and  Ramler.  Die  Britische  Bibliothek 
(1758)"®  says  that  the  laughing  satire  is  more  biting  than  the  seri- 
ous, and  that  to  the  former  kind  Dryden  has  a  just  claim,  as  his 
Mac  Flecknoe  crowns  him  with  eternal  laurels. 

'Schmid  in  his  Theorie  der  Poesie^^  {iy6y)  emphasizes  the  per- 
sonal element  in  Dryden's  satires,  which  he  illustrates  by  saying 
that  Mac  Flecknoe  was  written  against  the  wretched  rhymer  who 
became  his  successor  as  poet  laureate. 

Gerstenberg  directly  compares  Klotz  with  Mac  Flecknoe  in  a 
review  of  the  Lessing-Klotz  controversy  concerning  Laokoon 
(lyGg).""^  "Klotz  der  den  Verstand  der  meisten  Dingen  so  son- 
derbar, wie  mit  Versatz  verfehlet,  dasz  er  gleich  jenem  Mac  Fleck- 
noe beym  Dryden,  ein  Gelübde  gethan  zu  haben  scheint 

"  Ne'er  to  have  truce  with  sense." 

In  his  Geschichte  der  komischen  Literatur/^  Flögel  sketches  the 
life  and  satirical  works  of  Dryden  and  attaches  considerable  im- 
portance to  Mac  Flecknoe,  giving  the  circumstances  of  its  origin 
and  translating  in  prose  lines  15  to  20,  to  which  he  adds :  "  Dieses 
ist  einer  der  besten  und  schärfsten  Satiren  im  Englischen."  By  way 
of  illustration  he  quotes  the  characterization  of  Shadwell : 

"  In  prose  and  verse,  was  owned  without  dispute 
Through  all  the  realm  of  nonsense  absolute." 

He  States,  however,  that  he  is  too  cruel  to  Shadwell  and  oversteps 
the  bounds  of  truth.  The  chief  motives  of  the  satire  are  then 
analyzed,  and  in  his  discitssion  of  Wernicke  he  also  gives  Dryden 
as  the  source  for  Hans  Sachs. 

Herder  admired  Dryden  as  a  lyricist,  as  we  shall  see  later,  but 
was  not  favorably  inclined  to  the  satire.  His  criticism  of  Wer- 
nicke is  for  the  most  part  negative,  but  he  mentions  Hans  Sachs 
in  the  Adrastca  (1801),'^-  as  the  "Heldengedicht,  das  er  gegen  den 

^8  In  connection  with  the  life  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  p.  396. 

^8  Chr.  Schmid,  Theorie  der  Poesie,  p.  228,  Berlin,  1767. 

^°  In  the  Hamburgischen  Neuen  Zeitung,  Aug.  7,  1769. 

''^  Carl  F.  Flögel,  Geschichte  der  komischen  Literatur,  II,  pp.  363-368. 

'2  Herders  Werke,  Düntzer,  vol.  14,  p.  735  ff. 


28  Milton  D.  Baiimgartner 

damals  blühenden  Postel  machte."  While  he  asserts  that  "Nation- 
und  Zeitmäszig  folgt  daraus  wenig,"  yet  he  praises  Wernicke  by 
saying  his  depictions  are  so  true  that  page  after  page  would  apply 
equally  well  to  Germany  in  1801  as  in  1700,  and  concludes  by  im- 
ploring the  spirits  and  critics:  "  thut  Eure  Kräfte,  Eure  Launen 
zusammen,  um  uns  den  Lohenstein  und  Hoffmannswaldau,  den 
neuen  Postel  und  Stoppo  aus  den  Gliedern  zu  treiben"! 

2.  Other  Satires  of  Dryden  in  Germany 

While  Mac  Flecknoe  left  a  deep  impression  upon  German  criti- 
cism, the  other  satires  of  Dryden  did  not  appear  prominently  and 
seem  to  have  exerted  but  little  influence.  Absolom  and  Achito- 
phel,  The  Medal,  and  The  Hind  and  the  Panther  are  incidentally 
discussed  by  critics.  ■  Of  these  Absolom  and  Achitophel  plays  the 
most  prominent  role,  due  to  the  famous  character  sketch  of  Zimri 
(Buckingham),  which  the  author  himself  regarded  a  model.  A 
part  of  the  Zimri  sketch  appeared  in  The  Spectator  (Nos.  163  and 
222),  translated  by  Mrs.  Gottsched;  the  whole  Zimri  sketch  is 
translated  in  prose  in  the  Britischen  BiblioihekJ^  accompanied 
with  the  remark  that  it  fits  the  Duke's  character.  The  review  of 
Hume's  History  of  Great  Britain,  also  in  the  Britischen  Biblio- 
thek, lauds  the  great  talent  of  Dryden,  but  regrets  that  in  common 
with  other  poets  he  produced  so  much  that  was  crude,  coarse,  and 
smutty,  but  concludes  :  "  Doch  unter  der  grossen  Anzahl  unwürdi- 
gen Geburten,  entdecken  einige  kleine  Stücke,  und  der  grösste 
Theil  seines  Absolom  und  Achitophel  so  viel  Genie,  einen  solchen 
Reichtum  des  Ausdrucks  ....  "'*  Flögel  believes  The  Rehearsal 
to  be  a  better  satire  than  Absolom  and  Achitophel,  ho\\e\er,  he  pro- 
nounces the  latter  "  Eine  beissende  Satire."'^  Blankenburg  briefly 
describes  it  and  calls  attention  to  its  popularity  by  citing  the  two 
translations  made  soon  after  its  appearance,'®  while  Bouterwek 
designates  it  the  most  artistic  poem  of  Dryden.'^' 

"3  Loco  citato,  p.  86,  1758. 
^4  Ibid.,  p.  622,  1757. 
''^  Loco  citato,  II,  p.  263. 

■^ß  Friedrich  von  Blankenburg,  Litterarische  Zusätze  zu  Johann  Georg 
Siil::ers  algemeiner  Theorie  der  schönen  Künste,  III,  p.  57',  Leipzig,  1796. 

316 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  29 

Flögel  and  Blankenburg  both  include  The  Medal  in  their  dis- 
cussion of  Dryden's  satires.  The  former  translates  in  part  the 
prefaced  epistle  to  the  Whigs,  where  Dryden  tells  them :  "  Rail  at 
me  abundantly,  and  not  to  break  a  custom,  do  it  without  wit."'^ 

Schmid  regards  The  Hind  and  the  Panther  a  personal  satire,'^ 
directed  against  the  Whigs ;  and  Flögel  analyzes  and  discusses 
it.  Bouterwek  ranks  it  above  Religio  Laid  poetically,  but  thinks 
it  is  so  long  that  it  becomes  monotonous  and  is  overburdened  with 
unpoetic  historical  references  to  the  church  and  the  politics  of 
England. *° 

3.  "  Essay  on  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Satire  " 

The  criticism  of  Germany  was  not  only  influenced  by  the  satires 
of  Dryden,  but  also  by  the  history  and  theory  of  the  satire  which 
he  presented  in  his  treatise  On  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the 
Satire  (1693).  This  discourse  contained  a  history  of  the  satire 
from  the  beginning;  an  exhaustive  comparison  of  the  satirists 
Horace,  Juvenal,  and  Persius,  and  his  own  theory  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  writing  a  satire. 

Dryden's  treatise  on  the  satire  found  its  way  into  Germany 
shortly  after  Lessing's  publication  of  his  translation  of  Dryden's 
Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie.  In  1762  it  was  translated  and  pub- 
lished by  Nicolai,  Lessing's  co-worker,  in  his  Vermischten 
Schriften  which,  as  we  shall  see  later,  also  contained  Warton's 
Essay  on  the  Writings  and  Genius  of  Pope,  and  the  translations 
of  some  of  the  best  English  and  French  critical  works.  The  trans- 
lation was  most  probably  undertaken  at  Lessing's  suggestion,  as 
Nicolai  cooperated  with  him.  It  does  not  include  the  general  and 
personal  matter  in  the  beginning,  and  wisely  omits  the  unessential 
parenthetical  phrases  thrown  in  for  illustration,  as  for  instance, 
"  like  my  friend,  '  The  Plain  Dealer.'  "  Nicolai's  translation  does 
not  lack  in  clearness  for  the  German  reader,  but  his  style  lacks  the 

^■^  Friedrich   Bouterwek,    Geschichte   der  Künste   und    Wissenschaften, 
Vol  VIII,  p.  48  ff.    Göttingen,  1810. 
^8  Loco  Citato,  II,  p.  364. 
"9  Ibid.,  p.  365. 
so  Loco  citato,  VIII,  p.  49. 

?>^7 


30  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

finish  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  prose  of  Dryden  and 
Lessing. 

The  esteem  in  which  other  critics  held  Nicolai  at  this  time,  is 
reflected  by  their  familiarity  with  the  Nicolai  translation.  Schmid 
opens  his  chapter  on  the  satire  with :  "  Cesabanus  und  Dryden 
haben  die  gründlichsten  Untersuchungen  über  den  Ursprung  und 
die  Alterthümer  der  Satyre  gemacht,"  then  cites  Nicolai's  trans- 
lation.^^ In  dealing  with  Dorset  as  a  satirist,  he  quotes  Dryden: 
"  Graf  Dorset  hat  nach  Drydens  Urtheil  die  Kunst  der  feineren 
Spötterei  verstanden."^-  Flögel  regards  Dryden's  treatise  on  the 
Greek  and  Roman  satire  an  authority :  "  Sie  ist  mit  Geschmack 
und  Gründlichkeit  abgefasst."^^  Blankenburg  is  even  more  em- 
phatic in  his  commendation.  After  outlining  the  satire,  he  directs 
the  reader  to  Dryden  as  the  one  authority :  "  Wer  mit  einer  aus- 
führlichen Untersuchung  hierübergedient  seyn  mag,  den  verweisen 
wir  auf  Drydens  Abhandlung  von  dem  Ursprung  und  Fortgang 
der  Satire."** 

Although  less  emphatic  in  his  commendation,  Bouterwek  re- 
gards it  an  exhaustive  treatment :  "  Besonders  lesenswerth  ist 
seine  (Dryden's)  ausfürliche  Zueignung  oder  eigentliche  Abhand- 
lung über  die  didaktische  Satyre."®^ 


CHAPTER  IL     Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie   (1668) 
I.  Early  Noted  by  German  Critics 

Aside  from  his  satires,  Dryden's  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie 
exerted  a  greater  influence  upon  Germany  than  any  of  his  other 
critical  works.  While  the  translation  and  Bodmer's  revival  of 
Mac  FIccknoe  preceded  the  translation  of  the  Essay,  the  latter 
preceded  the  translation  of  the  treatise  On  the  Origin  and  Prog- 

81  Loco  citato,  p.  235. 

82  Ibid.,  p.  238. 

83  Loco  citato,  I,  p.  278.  Throughout  the  work  he  quotes  Drj-den,  L,  175, 
278;  II,  4,  7,  20,  354  ff-,  364^371,  384;  HI,  464;  IV,  83,  90,  217,  300. 

8*  Loco  citato,  IV,  p.  12g. 
85  Loco  citato,  VIIT,  p.  55. 

318 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  31 

ress  of  the  Satire,  and  was  the  first  work  of  Dryden  noted  by 
German  critics.  Morhof ,  in  his  Unterricht  der  deutschen  Sprache 
und  Poesie'^  (1684),  discusses  and  in  a  chapter  on  English  poetry 
analyzes  it  at  some  length.  One  of  the  interesting  features  of  his 
discussion  is  that  of  the  four  authors  dealt  with  in  the  Essay, 
Shakspere,  Fletcher,  Beaumont,  and  Jonson.  He  says  that  he 
has  read  nothing  of  Shakspere  and  Fletcher,  and  limits  his  anal- 
ysis to  Jonson.  While  he  concedes,  "  Dryden  hat  gar  wohl  ge- 
lehrt von  der  Dramatica  Poesi  geschrieben,"  he  regards  his  claim 
that  the  present  English  writers  are  superior  to  all  moderns,  as 
too  presumptions.  In  his  "  Polyhistor  "^  (1688-1692),  Morhof 
also  twice  mentions  the  Essay,  and  like  most  German  critics  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  speaks  of  the  author  as  the  "  celebrated 
Dryden." 

Jöcher's  Gelehrte  Lexicon,  (1715)^  characterizes  Dryden  as 
"  einer  von  den  vortrefflichsten  Poeten  und  Comödien-Schreibern 
in  Engelland,  welcher  sonderlich  sehr  viele  Schauspiele,  auch  einen 
gelehrten  Tractat  von  Dramatik  Poesy  geschrieben." 

As  early  as  1730  Gottsched  quotes  from  the  Essay  Dryden's 
definition  of  humor :  "  The  ridiculous  Extravagance  of  Conver- 
sation, wherein  one  Men  differs  from  all  others."*  Like  Morhof, 
he  accuses  Dryden  of  presumption  in  the  claim  that  the  English 
surpass  all  moderns  in  the  use  of  humor.  He  regards  Jonson  the 
authority  on  the  rules  for  the  English  stage,  but  adds :  "  darin 
Dryden  auch  viel  Wercks  macht."  He  knew  the  Essay  only 
through  the  French  translation  of  the  Spectator,  for  his  knowledge 
of  English  was  so  limited  that  he  could  not  even  quote  accu- 
rately, as  is  evident  from  the  English  passages  in  the  Critischen 
Dichtkunst. 

^  See  the  second  edition,  p.  226  ff.,  Lübeck  und  Frankfurt,  1702. 

2  See  fourth  edition,  I,  p.  763  and  1013,  Lubecae,  1747. 

3  See  the  third  edition,  p.  940,  Leipzig,  1733. 

*  Versuch  einer  critischen  Dichtkunst  vor  die  Deutschen,  p.  639,  Leipzig, 
1730.  \ 


319 


32  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

2.  Its  Relation  to  Lessing  and  his  Seventeenth  Literatur- 
brief 

Prior  to  Lessing's  connection  with  the  Essay,  however,  the  sig- 
nificance of  its  relation  to  Germany  was  inconsequential.  The 
close  relation  of  the  Essay  to  Lessing,  especially  to  the  utterances 
in  the  seventeenth  Literaturbrief,  has  not  been  adequately  treated. 
Erich  Schmidt  only  vaguely  suggests  the  relation  by  adding  to 
the  sketch  of  the  Essay,  the  single  sentence :  "  Ein  Jahr  später 
schrieb  Lessing  den  siebzehnten  Literaturbrief. "^  Karl  Borinski 
asserts,  that  it  is  quite  evident  that  Dryden  is  Lessing's  guide 
in  the  English  theater,  but  does  not  specify  the  connection  be- 
tween the  Essay  and  the  Literaturbrief}'  Meisnest  directly  con- 
nects the  Essay  with  Lessing's  utterances  on  Shakspere  in  the 
Literaturbrief,  but  he  did  not  use  the  internal  evidence  to  reach 
his  conclusion,  and  his  argument  in  favor  of  Nicolai's  influence  i= 
based  on  a  wrong  date.'^ 

Before  presenting  the  evidence  of  relationship  between  the  two, 
a  sketch  of  Lessing's  early  acquaintance  with  Dryden  through 
Voltaire,  and  Gottsched's  later  connection  wüth  the  Essay,  are 
necessary  for  the  understanding  and  the  partial  justification  of  the 
attack  upon  Gottsched  in  the  Literaturbrief.  As  Erich  Schmidt 
has  shown,  Lessing  was  introduced  to  Shakspere  through  A^ol- 
taire's  Lettres  sur  les  Anglais  (1732).^  Similarly  it  may  be  said 
that  Lessing  was  also  introduced  to  Dryden  through  Voltaire's 
Lettres,  for  the  characterization  of  Shakspere  as  a  tragedian,  and 
the  quotation  of  "to  be  or  not  to  be"  from  Hamlet  are  directly 
followed  in  the  same  Lettre  with  a  characterization  of  Dryden, 
and  the  quotation  of  the  well  known  lines  from  Aureng-Zebe: 
"When  I  consider  life,  'tis  all  a  cheat."     While  not  altogether 

^Lessing,  Geschichte  seines  Lebens  und  seiner  Werke,  I,  p.  376,  Berlin, 
1884. 

^Lessing,  I,  p.  11 1,  Berlin,  1900. 

■^  Lessing  and  Shakspere,  Publication  of  the  Modern  Language  Asso- 
ciation, XIX,  p.  234  flF.  (1904).  Meisnest  dates  the  review  made  by  Nicolai 
of  the  Neuen  Probestücke  der  englischen  Schaubühne  (Bibliothek  der 
schönen  Wissenschaften,  VI,  Stück  l,  pp.  60-74),  17581  while  it  was  not 
published  until  1760,  one  year  after  the  publication  of  the  Litcraturbrief. 

8  Loco  citato,  I,  p.  166. 

320 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  33 

favorable  to  Dryden,  Voltaire's  criticism  proclaims  him  an  "  Au- 
teur  plus  fecond  que  judicieux,  qui  auroit  une  reputation  sans 
melange,  s'il  n'avoit  fait  qui  la  dixemi  partie  de  ses  ouvrages." 
"  The  Lettres  of  Voltaire,  which  discussed  among  other  topics 
English  tragedy  and  comedy,  did  much  toward  inspiring  Lessing 
to  take  up  the  cause  of  the  English  drama  and  Dryden,  just  as  the 
Spectator  had  first  called  the  attention  of  Bodmer  to  Milton  and 
his  epic.  Paradise  Lost.  The  Beyträge  sur  Historie  und  Aufnahme 
des  Theaters  (1750),  edited  jointly  by  Lessing  and  Mylius,  con- 
tains a  translation  of  Voltaire's  Lettres.  Lessing,  however, 
planned  the  work,  wTote  the  introduction,  and  contributed  most 
of  the  articles.^  In  the  introduction  of  the  Beyträge  he  says  that 
one  purpose  of  the  work  will  be  to  translate  ancient  plays,  then 
modern  dramas  little  known  in  Germany,  especially  English  and 
Spanish.  He  then  enumerates  a  number  of  dramatists,  and 
among  the  English  commends  Shakspere,  Dryden,  Wicherly,  Van- 
brugh.  Gibber,  and  Gongreve.  "  Diese  sind  alle  Männer,"  he  says, 
"  die  zwar  eben  so  grosze  Fehler  als  Schönheiten  haben,  von 
denen  aber  ein  vernünftiger  Nachahmer  sich  sehr  vieles  zu  Nutze 
machen  kann."  Lessing  has  enumerated  here  only  the  dramatists 
which  Voltaire  has  discussed  in  the  Lettres,  and  the  faults  and 
beauties,  which  he  ascribes  to  them,  are  evidently  a  reflection  of 
Voltaire's  criticism. 

Even  though  Lessing  at  this  time  still  regarded  Gottsched  as  the  -^{p 
authority  on  the  German  stage,  the  introduction  to  the  Beyträge 
shows  that  he  is  no  longer  fully  in  accord  with  Gottsched's  idea 
of  the  German  theater  and  that  he  has  greater  faith  in  the  Eng- 
lish drama  as  a  model  for  the  Germans.  He  regrets  that  only  the 
French  have  been  taken  as  a  model,  and  continues  :  "  Dadurch  hat 
man  aber  unser  Theater  zu  einer  Einförmigkeit  gebracht,  die  man 
sich  auf  alle  mögliche  Art  zu  vermeiden  sich  hätte  bestreben 
sollen."  He  is  more  emphatic  in  his  views  in  favor  of  the  Eng- 
lish, w^hen  he  enumerates  the  list  of  English  dramatists.  "  Shak- 
spere, Dryden, — sind  Dichter,  die  man  bey  uns  fast  nur  dem 
Namen  nach  kennet,  und  gleichwohl  verdienen  sie  unsere  Hoch- 

9  See    foreword    to    the    Theatralischen    Bibliothek    (Berlin,    1754).    in 
Lessiugs  Werke,  V,  p.  10,  edited  by  Boxberger. 

321 


34  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

achtung,  sowohl  als  die  gepriesenen  französischen  Dichter."  Still 
more  emphatic,  and  seemingly  prophetic  of  the  future  course  of 
the  German  stage,  is  the  next  utterance:  "Das  ist  gewisz,  wollte 
der  Deutsche  in  der  dramatischen  Poesie  seinem  eigenen  Natur- 
elle folgen,  so  würde  unsre  Schaubühne  mehr  der  englischen  als 
französischen  gleichen." 

Lessing's  utterances  in  the  introduction  of  the  Beyträge  could 
hardly  have  escaped  the  notice  of  Gottsched,  as  he  had  but  re- 
cently suffered  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Swiss  School  of  poets, 
when  in  1748  the  first  cantos  of  Klopstock's  Messias  appeared. 
Translations  of  English  plays  were  beginning  to  spring  up  here 
and  there,  and  Gottsched's  followers  were  daily  deserting  him. 
These  translations  were  made  a  part  of  the  repertoire  of  the 
German  theatrical  troops.  At  Leipzig,  for  instance,  where  Gott- 
sched had  enjoyed  the  dictatorship  of  the  stage,  Koch  and  his 
troop  of  players  in  1752  successfully  performed  Weisse's  trans- 
lation of  TJie  Devil  to  Pay  by  Coffey.  Gottsched  harshly  attacked 
not  only  this  opera,  but  all  English  plays^  and  translators  and  per- 
formers of  the  translations,  maintaining  that  they  defiled  the  taste 
(Geschmack)  of  the  German  theater.^"  This  harsh  criticism  gave 
rise  to  a  scandal  in  which  many"  Streitschriften"  passed  between 
Gottsched  and  his  followers  and  their  opponents. ^^  Lessing  fol- 
lowed this  controversy  with  interest,  as  is  evident  from  the  re- 
view in  the  Berlinischen  privilegierten  Zeitung}-  While  assum- 
ing to  take  a  non-partisan  role,  he  defends  Den  Teufel  ist  Los  in 
its  essentials,  and  reiterates  his  claim  made  in  the  Beyträge  by 
saying :  "  dasz  es  vielleicht  nicht  allzu  wohl  gethan  sei,  wenn  wir 
unsre  Bühne,  die  noch  in  der  Bildung  ist,  auf  das  Einfache  des 
französichen  Geschmacks  einschränken  wollen."  He  robs  Gott- 
sched of  the  argument,  that  the  English  plays  violate  the  rules  of 
the  drama,  by  simply  granting  that  no  English  play  is  regular. 

In  1752  (Bocage's)  Le.ttres  sur  le  theatre  Anglais, '^^  containing 

^°  Das  Neuste  aus  der  anmuthigen  Gelehrsamkeit,  III,  p.  128,  I7S3- 

11  Gustav  Waniek,  Gottsched  und  die  deutsche  Litteratur  seiner  Zeit,  p. 
619  fif.,  Leipzig,  1897.  Cf.  also  J.  Minor,  Christian  Felix  Weisse  und  seine 
Beziehung  zur  deutschen  Literatur,  pp.  130-157. 

12  Dated  July  21,  1753.     Cf.  Lessings  Werke,  IV,  p.  175,  in  D.  N  .L. 
1-''  Two  volumes,  published  in  Paris. 

322 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  3  5 

a  partial  translation  of  Dryden's  Essay,  was  published.  In  order 
to  regain  his  lost  prestige,  Gottsched  eagerly  seized  the  opportu- 
nity afforded  by  the  Lcttres  to  introduce  Dryden,  an  English 
authority,  supporting  his  contention,  that  the  French  drama  was 
superior  to  the  English.  The  Essay  contains  two  main  propo- 
sitions for  consideration:  first,  the  relative  merits  of  the  ancient 
and  modern  theater ;  and  second,  the  relative  merits  of  the  French 
and  English  dramatists.  Four  friends  debate  these  two  proposi- 
tions. Crites  takes  up  the  issue  with  Eugenius,  and  defends  the 
ancients ;  while  Lisidieus  takes  issue  against  Neander,  and  de- 
fends the  French,  Dryden  specifically  states  in  the  preface  that 
Neander  is  his  spokesman.^*  Now  Bocage,  and  then  Gottsched 
from  him,  translate  the  speech  of  Lisidieus,  who  argued  the  cause 
of  the  French  to  prove  Dryden  an  authority  favoring  the  French 
drama. 

Lessing  was  still  partly  adhering  to  Gottsched  at  the  time  the 
latter  published  his  partial  translation  of  the  Essay  of  Dryden. 
His  too  numerous  plans,  and  his  diversified  interests  prevented 
him  from  carrying  out  the  program  mapped  out  in  the  Bcyträgcn 
in  his  new  journal,  the  Theatralischen  Bibliothek,^^  founded  in 
1754.  But  Gottsched's  manner  of  introducing  Dryden  to  prove 
his  own  theories,  no  doubt  induced  Lessing  to  turn  to  Dryden  and 
the  Essay,  when  he  became  convinced  that  the  repudiation  of  Gott- 
sched was  necessary.  That  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
Dryden  before  the  publication  of  the  translation  of  the  Essay 
in  1758^^  is  proven  by  the  letter  to  Mendelssohn  in  1756  in  which 
he  says :  "  Bitten  Sie  doch  den  Hrn.  Nicolai  in  memem  Namen 
mir  mit  ehestem  denjenigen  Theil  von  Gibbers  Lebensbeschreib- 
ungen der  englischen  Dichter  zu  schicken,  in  welchem  Drydcns 
Leben  steht.     Ich  brauche  ihn."^' 

^*  "  The  drift  of  the  ensuing  discourse  was  chiefly  to  vindicate  the  honor 
of  the  English  writers  from  the  censure  of  those  who  unjustly  prefer  the 
French  before  them." 

15  Lessings  Werke,  V,  D.  N.  L.,  Chap.  XIII,  contains :  Von  Johann 
Dryden  und  dessen  dramatischen  Werken. 

^'^  According  to  a  review  in  the  Berlinischen  priv.  Zeitung,  1759,  May  22, 
it  was  not  published  until  1759. 

^''Mendelssohns   Schriften,   V,    p.    69,    Leipzig,    1756.     Gibber's   life    re- 

323 


T,6  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

In  the  translation  of  the  Essay  Lessing  omits  some  of  the  less 
essential  parts,  but  translates  the  portion  containing  the  argu- 
ments as  to  whether  the  French,  or  the  English  drama  is  superior. 
His  translation  interprets  the  English  spirit,  and  like  Dryden,  he 
writes  an  excellent  prose,  such  as  none  of  his  predecessors  wrote ; 
while  Gottsched  wrote  a  less  lucid  style,  and  interpreted  Dryden 
solely  through  French-colored  glasses. 

The  significance  of  Lessing's  translation  has  not  been  pointed 
out  by  any  of  his  critics.  Besides  the  overthrow  of  Gottsched's 
claim,  that  Dryden  preferred  the  French  drama  to  the  English,  it 
directly  influenced  Lessing  in  the  convictions  expressed  in  the' 
seventeenth  Literatiirbrief,  and  introduced  into  Germany  one 
of  the  best  extant  English  criticisms  of  the  English  theater.  The 
immediate  occasion  for  the  Literaturbrief  was  a  review  by 
Nicolai  in  which  he  asserts :  "  Niemand  wird  läugnen,  dasz  die 
deutsche  Schaubühne  einen  groszen  Theil  ihrer  ersten  Verbesser- 
ungen dem  Herrn  Prof.  Gottsched  zu  danken  habe  ....  "^^  Less- 
ing took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  offered  by  this  review,  to 
make  a  vehement  attack  upon  Gottsched  and  Voltaire,  allegiance 
to  whom  he  now  completely  renounces. 

Evidences  of  close  relationship  between  Dryden's  Essay  and 
the  seventeenth  Literaturbrief  are :  date ;  identical  arguments 
in  favor  of  English  dramatic  supremacy ;  enumeration  of  the 
same  English  dramatists ;  proclamation  of  Shakspere's  genius ; 
emphasis  of  Corneille's  weakness ;  and  the  compliance  of  the 
scene  from  Lessing's  Faust  quoted  in  the  Literatiirbrief  with 
the  theories  set  up  by  Dryden  in  the  Essay.  The  connection  be- 
tween the  date  of  the  two  is  striking,  as  the  number  of  the  Thea- 
tralischen Bibliothek  containing  the  translation  of  the  Essay  was 
published  either  at  the  close  of  1758  or  early  in  1759,  while  the 
Literaturbrief  is  dated  February  16,  1759.  The  close  succes- 
sion of  the  two  is  significant.  Lessing  wrote  the  Literatur- 
brief when  his  translation  of  the  Essay  was  either  in  the  press, 

ferred  to  is  "Mr.   (Theophelus)  Cibber,  Tlie  Lizes  of  the  Poets  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  London,  1753.     Dryden's  life  is  in  Vol.  3,  p.  85  ff. 

18  Bibliothek  der  schönen  Wissenschaften  und  der  freyen  Künste,  III, 
p.  85,  1758. 

324 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  37 

or  had  just  come  from  the  press.  It  becomes  doubly  significant, 
when  we  consider  that  Dryden's  theme  in  the  Essay,  and  Lessing's 
in  the  Literaturhrief  are  identical,  namely,  to  prove  the  superi- 
ority of  the  English  theater  over  that  of  the  French.  Whether 
this  relation  of  time  and  theme  be  conscious  or  unconscious  on 
the  part  of  Lessing  is  immaterial  in  proving  Dryden's  influence 
upon  Lessing. 

Dryden's  first  argument  for  the  superiority  of  the  English 
drama  is  that  it  has  a  greater  variety  of  plot  and  action  than  the 
French.  Through  his  spokesman,  Neander,  he  concedes  that  the 
French  contrive  their  plots  more  regularly,  and  observe  the  de- 
corum of  the  stage,  and  the  unities  with  more  exactness,  but  is  of 
the  opinion,  that  neither  the  faults  of  the  English,  nor  the  virtues 
of  the  French  are  considerable  enough  to  deny  the  superiority  of 
his  countrymen  in  the  drama.  He  maintains  that  many  more 
"  accidents  "  can  naturally  happen  if  two  or  three  days  are  allowed 
for  the  maturity  of  the  design,  than  could  happen  with  any  proba- 
bility in  the  compass  of  twenty-four  hours.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  the  tragedy  in  which  the  design  is  greater.  The  servile 
observation  of  the  unity  of  place  often  forces  absurdities  upon  the 
French  poets  and  prevents  the  change  of  scene,  and  the  too  strict 
observance  of  the  unities  of  time  and  place  limits  the  action.  "  If 
we  are  to  be  blamed  for  showing  too  much  of  the  action,"  he  adds, 
"  the  French  are  as  fault}^  for  showing  too  little  of  it " ;  and  in 
characterizing  Shakspere  he  says:  "When  he  describes  anything 
you  more  than  see  it,  you  feel  it  too." 

Lessing  recognizes  the  similar  tastes  of  the  English  and  the 
Germans  in  the  drama,  and  in  a  passage  in  the  Literaturhrief 
almost  parallel  to  the  one  used  by  Dryden,  he  calls  attention  to  the 
inclination  of  the  Germans  for  a  larger  scope  of  action  and  greater 
profoundness  in  the  tragedy  than  the  French  possess.  "  Er  (Gott- 
sched) hätte  aus  unsern  alten  dramatischen  Stücken,  welche  er 
vertrieb,  hinlänglich  abmerken  können,  dass  wir  mehr  in  den 
Geschmack  der  Engländer  als  der  Franzosen  einschlagen ;  dass 
wir  in  unsern  Trauerspielen  mehr  sehen  und  denken  wollen,  als 
uns  das  furchtsame  französische  Trauerspiel  zu  sehen  und  zu 
denken  gibt  .  .  .  . " 

325 


38  Milton  D.  Bauuujartner 

As  an  other  argument  for  English  superiority  in  the  theater, 
Drvden  claims  greater  and  more  numerous  characters,  and  greater 
pas'sions  for  the  English  drama  with  its  complicated  plots.  He 
takes  exception  to  the  French  custom  of  making  only  one  person 
considerable  in  a  play.  Instead  he  would  have  several  "  shining 
characters,"  some  almost  equal  to  the  first,  so  that  greatness  may 
be  opposed  to  greatness,  and  all  the  persons  made  considerable  not 
only  by  their  quality,  but  also  by  their  action.  In  defense  of  his 
claims  he  refers  to  Shakspere  and  Fletcher:  "We  endeavor  to  fol- 
low the  variety  and  greatness  of  characters  which  are  derived  to 
us  from  Shakspere  and  Fletcher " ;  and,  "  Shakspere  is  always 
great,  when  some  great  occasion  is  presented  to  him." 

Likewise  Lessing  maintains  in  the  Literaturbrief,  that  Gott- 
sched should  have  perceived  "  dass  das  Grosse,  das  Melancho- 
lische besser  auf  uns  wirkt  als  das  Artige,  das  Verliebte  .  .  .  . " 

To  the  accusation  of  the  French  that  the  English  show  too  much 
tumult  on  the  stage,  Dryden  replied :  "  Whether  custom  has  so 
insinuated  itself  into  our  countrymen,  or  nature  has  so  formed 
them  to  fierceness  I  know  not ;  but  they  will  scarcely  permit  com- 
bats and  other  objects  of  horror  to  be  taken  from  them  " ;  and, 
"  I  dare  boldly  afifirm  that  in  most  of  the  irregular  plays  of  Shak- 
spere and  Fletcher  there  is  more  masculine  fancy,  and  more  spirit 
of  writing,  than  there  is  in  any  of  the  French." 

The  Germans,  according  to  Lessing,  are  by  nature  more  virile 
than  the  French.  "  Gottsched  hätte  aus  unsern  alten  drama- 
tischen Stücken,  welche  er  vertrieb,  hinlänglich  abmerken  können, 
dass — -das  Schreckliche — besser  auf  uns  wirkt,  als — das  Zärtliche." 

Further  Dryden  argues  that  by  pursuing  a  single  theme  the 
French  lose  the  advantage  of  expressing  and  of  arousing  the  pas- 
sions. "I  confess,"  he  continues,  "their  verses  are  to  me  the 
coldest  I  have  ever  read.  Neither  indeed  is  it  possible  for  them 
in  the  way  they  take  so  to  express  passion  that  the  effects  of  it 
should  appear  in  the  concernment  of  the  audience. — Their  speeches 
are  so  many  declamations  which  tire  us  with  their  length.  We 
are  concerned  as  we  are  in  tedious  visits  of  bad  company,  and  are 
in  pain  until  they  are  gone." 

Lessing  also  contends  that  the  German  taste  does  not  run  in  the 

326 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  39 

direction  of  the  too  simple,  and  that  Gottsched  should  have  ob- 
served, "  dass  die  zu  grosse  Einfalt  uns  mehr  ermüde,  als  die  zu 
grosse  Verwicklung."  Then  he  concludes  his  general  arguments 
in  favor  of  the  English  theater,  which  are  identical  with  those  of 
Dryden  in  the  Essay,  with  the  remark:  "Er  (Gottsched)  hätte 
also  auf  dieser  Spur  bleiben  sollen,  und  sie  würde  ihn  geraden 
Weges  auf  das  englische  Theater  geführet  haben." 

The  same  English  dramatists  are  also  grouped  together  by  Dr)-- 
den  and  Lessing.  The  request  of  Eugenius  that  Neander,  the 
spokesman  for  Dryden,  give  a  character  sketch  of  Jonson  and  tell 
his  opinion  frankly  whether  all  writers,  both  French  and  English, 
should  give  place  to  him,  was  granted ;  but  in  granting  the  request 
Neander  reserved  the  right  of  also  characterizing  Jonson's  rivals 
in  poetry,  Shakspere,  Beaumont,  and  Fletcher.  These  four  Eng- 
lish dramatists  are  given  the  first  rank  by  Neander,  and  are  the 
only  ones  he  dwells  upon  at  length  in  the  Essay. 

Singularly  Lessing  enumerates  just  these  four,  when  he  accused 
Gottsched  of  giving  the  first  rank  to  Addison's  Cato.  "  Denn 
eben  dieses,  dass  er  den  Addisonschen  Cato  für  das  beste  eng- 
lische Trauerspiel  hält,  zeiget  deutlich,  dasz  er  hier  nur  mit  den 
Augen  der  Franzosen  gesehen  und  damals  keinen  Shakspere, 
keinen  Jonson,  und  keinen  Beaumont  und  Fletcher  u.  s.  w.  ge- 
kannt hat  ....  "^^  On  the  surface  this  may  simply  be  ascribed 
to  commonly  accepted  knowledge,  but  Lessing's  criticism  is  usu- 
ally based  on  careful  investigation  of  the  source,  or  upon  the  con- 
clusions of  a  recognized  authority.  At  best  his  first-hand  knowl- 
edge of  English  dramatists  at  this  time  was  still  rather  limited. 
Then  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  before  he  and  Voltaire  were 
estranged,  he  commended  Shakspere,  Dryden,  Wicherly,  Van- 
brugh,  Gibber,  and  Congreve  after  reading  the  Lett res^  which  dis- 
cussed these  same  dramatists ;  and  now  after  translating  the 
Essay,  he  commends  Shakspere,  Jonson,  Beaumont,  and  Fletcher. 

Four  times  he  groups  them  thus :  twice  in  the  explanatory  links 
in  the  translation  of  the  Essay;  once  in  the   "  Geschichte  der 

^^Immediately  following  the  characterization  of  Drj-den,  Voltaire  in  his 
Lcttrcs  places  Addison  and  his  Cato  above  Shakspere  and  all  other  Eng- 
lish dramatists. 

2>^7 


40  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

deutschen  Schaubühne,"  pubhshed  in  the  same  number  of  the 
Bibliothek  with  the  Essay;  and  again  in  the  Literaturbrief,  as 
ah-eady  mentioned.  Lessing's  first  grouping  in  the  Essay  is  in  his 
explanation  of  the  "  last  age"  used  by  Crites.  "  Er  versteht  unter 
diesem  letztvergangenen  Weltalter  die  kurz  vor  dem  bürgerlichen 
Kriege  vorhergegangenen  Jahre,  die  Regierung  der  Königin  Elisa- 
beth und  Jakobs  L,  unter  welcher  Shakespeare,  Johnson  und 
andere  grosze  Genies  lebten."  The  second  grouping  is  in  con- 
nection with  the  dialogue  of  Eugenius  and  Neander,  where  the 
former  interrupts  the  latter  in  the  examination  of  the  Silent 
Women  to  beg  for  the  sketch  of  Shakspere,  Jonson,  Beaumont, 
and  Fletcher.  This  Lessing  condenses  as  follows :  "  Ehe  es  hierzu 
kömmt,  ersuchet  Eugenius  den  Neander,  den  Charakter  ihrer  vier 
vornehmsten  dramatischen  Dichter  zii  entwerfen,  welches  er  in 
folgenden  thut." 

The  passage  in  the  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Schaubühne  runs : 
"  Shakspere,  Beaumont,  Fletcher  und  Ben  Johnson  waren  die 
groszen  Genies,  die  es  [das  vorige  Jahrhundert]  mit  unsterblichen 
Werken  bereicherten  und  es  auf  einmal  zu  einem  Theater  machten, 
welches  nach  dem  griechischen  für  einen  Kenner  der  schönen 
Wissenschaften  das  allerinteressanteste  ist  und  dem  Anschein 
nach  auch  bleiben  wird."^° 

Furthermore  Dryden  and  Lessing  in  common  emphasize  the 
weakness  of  Corneille.  Measuring  him  by  the  definition  of  a  play 
laid  down  in  the  Essay  ("  a  just  and  lively  imitation  of  nature,  rep- 
resenting its  passions  and  humors"),  Dryden  finds  many  weak- 
nesses in  Corneille,  the  "  arch-dramatist "  of  the  French.  He 
grants  that  his  plays  are  regular,  but  adds :  "  What  is  more  easy 
than  to  write  a  regular  French  play,  or  is  more  difficult  than  to 
write  an  irregular  English  one,  like  those  of  Fletcher,  or  of  Shak- 
spere"? He  regards  the  plots  of  Corneille  as  "flat  designs,"  and 
compares  them  with  "  ill  riddles  "  found  out  ere  they  are  half  pro- 
posed. To  him  Corneille's  best  comedy.  The  Liar,  lacks  humor, 
and  does  not  compare  favorably  with  many  comedies  of  Fletcher 
and  Jonson.  Corneille's  tragedies  do  not  move  the  passions,  ac- 
cording to  Dryden,  on  account  of  their  long  tedious  speeches. 

^^J^essings  Werke,  V,  p.  351. 

328 


Dry  den's  Relation  to   Germany  41 

"Look  upon  the  Cinna  and  the  Pompcy;  they  are  not  so  properly 
to  be  called  plays,  as  long  discourses  of  reason  of  state ;  and  Poli- 
eucte  in  matters  of  religion  is  as  solemn  as  the  long  stops  upon 
our  organs."  Even  his  most  popular  play,  Andromede,  Dryden 
finds  teeming  with  improbabilities. 

As  compared  with  the  English,  especially  Shakspere,  Lessing 
also  claims  that  Corneille  lacks  in  the  essentials  of  tragedy,  in 
power  over  the  passions,  and  in  wit ;  but  concedes  that  he  ob- 
serves the  rules  of  the  ancients.  In  the  language  of  the  Litcr- 
aturhrief:  "Auch  nach  den  Mustern  der  Alten  die  Sache  zu  ent- 
scheiden, ist  Shakspere  ein  weit  gröszerer  tragischer  Dichter  als 
Corneille,  obgleich  dieser  die  Alten  sehr  wohl  und  jener  fast  gar 
nicht  gekannt  hat.  Corneille  kömmt  ihnen  in  der  mechanischen 
Einrichtung  und  Shakspere  in  dem  Wesentlichen  näher.  Der 
Engländer  erreicht  den  Zweck  der  Tragödie  fast  immer,  so  son- 
derbare und  ihm  eigne  Wege  er  auch  wählet,  und  der  Franzose 
erreicht  ihn  fast  niemals,  ob  er  gleich  die  gebahnten  Wege  der 
Alten  betritt.  Nach  dem  '  Oedipus '  des  Sophokles  muss  in  der 
Welt  kein  Sti^ick  mehr  Gewalt  über  unsere  Leidenschaften  haben 
als  '  Othello,'  als  '  König  Lear,'  als  '  Hamlet '  u.  s.  w.  Hat  Cor- 
neille ein  einziges  Trauerspiel,  das  Sie  nur  halb  so  gerühret  hätte 
als  die  'Zaire'  des  Voltaire?  Und  die  'Zaire'  des  Voltaire,  wie 
weit  ist  sie  unter  dem  '  Mohren  von  Venedig '  ?  " 

Both  Dryden  and  Lessing  proclaim  Shakspere  a  genius.  At  the 
time  Dryden  wrote  the  Essay,  the  idea  of  genius  had  not  been 
formulated,  but  already  he  had  ventured  to  place  Shakspere  above 
Jonson-^  and  all  English  poets.  In  the  Dedication  to  tJie  Rival 
Ladies,  published  four  years  before  the  Essay,  he  attributes  to  him 
"  a  larger  soul  of  poesy  than  any  of  our  nation "  f^  and  in  the 
Essay  itself,  comparing  him  with  Jonson  he  says:  "Shakspere, 
the  Homer  or  father  of  our  dramatic  poets,  is  the  greater  wit." 
With  some  reserve  he  places  him  above  the  ancient  poets.  "  He 
was  the  man  who  of  all  modern,  and  perhaps  ancient  poets,  had 
the  largest  and  most  comprehensive  soul."     Later  Dryden  formu- 

21  Malone,  Critical  and  Miscellaneous  Prose  Works  of  John  Dryden,  I, 
part  I,  p.  61.  London,  1800. 
"  Scott-Saintsbury,  II,  p.  136. 

329 


42  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

lated  the  idea  that  genius  is  superior  to  any  rule.  This  declaration 
is  coupled  with  Shakspere  in  a  letter  to  Dennis  (1693)  :  "  He  had 
a  genius  for  tragedy  and  we  know  that  genius  alone  is  a  greater 
virtue  than  all  other  qualifications  put  together. "^^  Although  he 
formulated  the  idea  of  genius,  it  was  Young  who  developed  the 
idea,-*  which  Lessing  accepted,  and  the  "  Sturm  und  Dränger " 
disseminated.-'"' 

While  Lessing  probably  did  not  know  the  Dryden-Dennis  letter, 
he  knew  from  the  Essay  that  Dryden  considered  Shakspere  a 
greater  dramatist  than  all  modern  writers,  and  in  the  Literatur- 
brief he  commends  the  translation  of  Shakspere's  masterpieces, 
and  proclaims  him  a  genius.  "  Denn  ein  Genie  kann  nur  von 
einem  Genie  entzündet  werden,  und  am  leichtesten  von  so  einem, 
das  alles  blosz  der  Natur  zu  danken  zu  haben  scheinet  .  .  .  .  "  Like 
Dryden,  he  utters  this  in  Shakspere's  presence  with  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Essay  still  fresh  in  mind. 

Finally  Dryden  lays  down  the  principle,  and  throughout  the 
Essay  insists,  that  short  speeches  and  quick  replies  move  the  pas- 
sions more,  and  bring  greater  pleasure  to  the  audience  than  the 
long  speeches.  "  It  cannot  be  denied  that  short  speeches  and  re- 
plies are  more  apt  to  move  the  passions  and  beget  concernment  in 
us,  than  the  other;  for  it  is  unnatural  for  any  one  in  a  gust  of 
passion  to  speak  long  together  .  .  .  .  "  In  the  Comedy  he  regards 
repartee  one  of  its  chief  graces.  "  The  greatest  pleasure  of  an 
audience,"  he  says,  "  is  a  chase  of  wit,  kept  up  on  both  sides,  and 
swiftly  managed."  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  he  regards  supreme 
in  quickness  of  wit  in  repartee,  but  in  wit  he  naturally  places  Shak- 
spere above  Jonson. 

Similarly  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Literaturbrief  Lessing  com- 
mends a  chase  of  wit.  "Das  aber  unsre  alten  Stücke  wirk- 
lich sehr  viel  Englisches  gehabt  haben,  könnte  ich  Ihnen  mit 
geringer  ]\Iühe  weitläufig  beweisen.  Nur  das  bekannteste  der- 
selben zu  nennen,  *  Doctor  Faust '  hat  eine  ^lenge  Szenen,  die  nur 

23  Scott-Saintsbury,  XVIII,  p.  117. 

24  Kind,  Edward  Young  in  Germany,  p.  2  ff.,  New  York,  1906. 

25  Hamelius,  Die  Kritik  der  englischen  Literatur  des  17.  und  iS.  Jahr- 
hunderts, p.  49,  Leipzig,  1896. 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  43 

ein  Shakspere'sches  Genie  zu  denken  vermögend  gewesen."  Then 
he  quotes  a  fragment  of  his  own  Faust,  depicting  the  scene  be- 
tween Faust  and  the  seven  fleet  spirits  of  hell,  which  is  made  up 
of  short  speeches  and  quick  replies.  At  the  close  of  the  scene  he 
adds:  "Was  sagen  Sie  zu  dieser  Szene?  Sie  wünschen  ein 
deutsches  Stück,  das  lauter  solche  Szenen  hätte?     Ich  auch." 

3.  German  Criticism  of  the  Essay  after  Lessing's 
Translation 

Naturally  Dryden's  Essay  won  prestige  in  Germany  through 
Lessing's  translation,  and  the  utterances  in  the  Literaturbrief. 
After  Lessing's  connection  with  it  German  critics  quote  from  and 
cite  the  Essay  as  if  it  were  generally  known  and  accepted  as  an 
authority.  Concerning  Dryden's  claim  for  English  humor,  espe- 
cially in  Jonson,  the  Bibliothek  der  schönen  Wissenschaften 
(1762)  remarks:  "  Dasz  die  Franzosen,  wie  Dryden  anmerket, 
nichts  aufweisen  können,  was  dem  Humor  des  Ben  Jonson  gleich 
käme."-*'  In  the  Hamburgischen  neuen  Zeitung  Gerstenberg  sub- 
stantiates his  claim  that  nothing  is  easier  than  writing  a  French 
tragedy  with :  "Schon  Dryden  sagte  zu  seiner  Zeit,  dasz  nichts 
leichter  wäre,  als  ein  französisches  Trauerspiel  zu  schreiben."-'^ 
Schütze,  the  Hamburg  theater-historian,  laments  that  Gottsched 
introduced  from  France  the  servile  observance  of  the  stage. 
"  Schon  der  Britte,  Driden,  warf  den  Franzosen  vor,  dasz  sie 
durch  die  zu  ängstliche  Beobachtung  des  Regelmässigen  den  grösz- 
ten  Haufen  der  Zuschauer  einschläferten."-^ 

Further  proof  of  Dryden's  influence  upon  Lessing  is  furnished 
by  the  commendatory  reviews  of  the  Essay  itself,  and  of  Lessing's 
translation.  The  Berlinische  priv.  Zeitung  (May  22,  1759)  desig- 
nates the  translation  "  einen  lehrreichen  Auszug."^"  Dryden's 
Essay  is  one  of  the  few  English  works  on  the  drama  known  to 
Schmid,  who  gives  it  the  first  rank,  and  also  cites  Lessing's  trans- 

26  VII,  Stück  2,  p.  354- 

2^^  See  Literatur  Denkmale,  CXXVIII,  p.  155,  Berlin,  1904. 
-^  Hamburgische  Theatergeschichtc,  p.  216,  Hamburg,  1794. 
29  Julius   W.    Braun,    Lessing    im    Urtheile   seiner   Zeitgenossen,    p.    96, 
Berlin,  1884. 


44  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

lation.^°  Bouterwek  regarded  Dryden  the  founder  of  the  theory 
of  the  English  drama  "  durch  seinen  vortrefflichen  Versuch  über 
die  dramatische  Dichtkunst."^^  Besides  making  a  detailed  anal- 
ysis of  the  Essay  he  also  prints  in  foot-notes  the  passages  from 
the  Essay  containing  the  characterization  of  Shakspere,  and  that 
dealing  with  the  decorum  of  the  French  stage.  He  considers  the 
criticism  of  Dryden  in  the  Essay  and  elsewhere  both  sane  and 
impartial. 

CHAPTER  HI.     The  Drama 

Although  the  dramas  of  Dryden  constitute  the  larger  part  of  his 
literary  efforts,  they  are  inferior  to  his  critical,  satirical,  and  lyr- 
ical works.  His  twenty-six  plays  consisting  of  ten  tragedies,  ten 
comedies,  three  tragi-comedies  and  three  operas,  cover  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years  of  his  career,  beginning  with  The  Wild  Gallant 
published  in  1669  ^"d  concluding  with  Loz^e  Triumphant,  pub- 
lished in  1694.  Many  of  them  were  heroic  plays  based  on  the 
French  romances  of  Madame  Scudery  and  others.  For  a  time 
they  were  exceedingly  popular  with  the  theater-going  public  of  the 
Restoration  Period,  but  were  short  lived  on  account  of  their  bom- 
bast. His  comedies  as  well  as  his  serious  plays  abound  in  heroic 
speeches,  and  more  frequently  portray  types  than  individual  char- 
acters, but  for  all  that  they  contain  many  beautiful  passages. 

I.  The  Four  Plays  Translated  in  Germany 

Four  plays  of  Dryden  were  translated  in  Germany :  The  Span- 
ish Friar  (1681),  The  State  of  Innocence  (1674),  Oedipus  (1679), 
and  All  for  Love  (1678)  ;  but  their  influence  on  the  German  stage 
is  not  marked,  and  the  translations  were  not  made  by  the  first 
poets  of  Germany.  Unfortunately  Lessing's  plan  to  translate  and 
discuss  the  plays  of  Dryden  in  the  Theatralischen  Bibliothek^  did 

^^  Theorie  der  Poesie,  p.  404. 
•■'1  Loco  citato,  VIII,  p.  54  ff.,  1810. 

1  Loco  citato,  chapter  XII,  p.  360  in  Lessings  Werke,  D.  N.  L.,  vol.  62 
(1755).  ^ 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  45 

not  materialize;  probably  due  to  the  later  discovery  of  the  real 
character  of  the  plays  and  to  his  other  numerous  undertakings. 

A.  The  Spanish  Friar 

The  first  play  of  Dryden  translated  in  Germany  was  The  Span- 
ish Friar^  but  it  was  never  published.  A  written  copy  is  in  the 
•'geheimen  Haus-  und  Staatsarchiv"  at  Stuttgart  with  the  title: 
Comoedia,  genannt  Der  Spannische  Munch  und  Ehrlich  Rebell, 
wurde  presentiert  vor  Carolo  dem  2ten  König  von  Gross-Britan- 
nien Durch  dero  Hoff  Comoedianten  componiert..  .Von  Johann 
Dryden  höchstberühmten  Poeten  und  übersetzt  ausz  dem  Eng- 
lischen in  das  Hochdeutsche  Durch  Casper  Spannagel,  Englischer 
Künstler.-  As  the  play  was  not  printed  until  1681  and  the  reign 
of  Charles  II  closed  in  1685,  the  Court  Comedians  must,  have  per- 
formed it  during  that  interval.  The  date  of  the  translation  can- 
not be  definitely  established,  as  nothing  is  known  of  the  translator, 
and  the  translation  is  not  dated,  but  it  was  probably  made  during 
the  author's  lifetime  or  soon  after.  Germany's  interest  in  the 
"  Singspiele  "  and  the  opera  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  Dryden's  renown  as 
poet  likely  account  for  the  translation.  The  records  apparently 
do  not  show  whether  the  play  was  performed  at  the  court  of  Würt- 
emberg,  but  the  translation  is  significant,  because  it  indicates  that 
even  during  the  Restoration  English  comedians  seem  to  have  had 
some  relation  to  Germany. 

B.  The  State  of  Innocence 

The  Spanish  Friar  was  followed  by  The  State  of  Innocence, 
which  attracted  but  little  attention  in  England  and  was  brought 
into  Germany  as  a  companion  work  of  Paradise  Lost,  the  source 
for  Dryden's  opera.  The  enthusiasm  for  Milton's  epic  spread 
by  Bodmer,  and  the  religious  sentiment  prevailing  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland  account  for  its  introduction  and  translation. 
Bodmer   early   became   acquainted   with    this   play   through   the 

2  Josef  Sittard,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Musik  und  des  Theaters  am  Wür- 
tembergischcn  Hofe.  Nach  Originalquell cn,  Erster  Band,  1458-1733,  p.  223, 
Stuttgart,  1890. 

333 


46  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

English  moral  weeklies,  and  the  references  to  it  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  Paradise  Lost  which  he  translated  along  with  the  epic 
itself  in  1724.^  The  introduction  contains  the  account  of  Milton's 
original  intention  of  writing  a  play  on  the  fall  of  man  and  the 
later  rejection  of  this  plan  which  Dryden  took  up,  transforming 
the  material  into  an  opera.  It  also  contains  a  characterization  of 
Dryden's  work  :  "  Darinn  findet  sich  zwar  eine  neuere  und  feinere 
Sprachart  als  in  Miltons  Paradiese,  aber  in  den  verliebten  Theilen 
äussert  sich  mehr  Künsteley  und  mehr  Galanterie  als  mit  dem 
Stande  der  Unschuld  überein  kömmt.  Die  Vorrechte  der  Weis- 
heit Adams  und  die  Schönheit  der  Eva  werden  nicht  geschickt 
genug  aus  einander  gesetzt." 

Bodmer  frequently  quoted  passages  from  The  State  of  Inno- 
cence, or  The  Fall  of  Man,  as  the  Germans  usually  designated  it, 
and  almost  invariably  translated  them.  Most  of  these  passages 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Tatler  and  the  Spectator,  but  it  scarcely 
seems  possible  that  he  was  not  familiar  with  the  opera  itself,  since 
he  was  so  deeply  interested  in  the  theme  of  the  fall  of  man.  As 
early  as  1740  some  of  these  passages  and  an  original  criticism  of 
The  Fall  of  Man  appeared  in  his  treatise  Von  dem  Wunderbaren 
in  der  Poesie,  which  he  published  in  conjunction  with  his  defense 
of  Paradise  Lost  and  Addison's  essay  on  its  beauties.*  The  criti- 
cism is  in  connection  with  the  scene  in  which  Adam  accepts  the 
forbidden  fruit  from  Eve.  He  regards  Dryden's  characteriza- 
tion of  Adam  in  the  scene  superior  to  that  of  Milton  because  it  is 
consistent  with  his  character  of  a  romantic  lover  throughout  the 
play.  "  Hingegen  hat  der  lose  Dryden  seinem  Adam  durch  sein 
gantzes  Gedicht  eine  verzärtelte  und  aus  sich  selbst  gesetzte  Liebe 

^Johann  Miltons  Verlust  des  Paradieses.  Ein  Heldengedicht.  In  un- 
gebundener Rede  übersetzet.  Zürich,  Gedruckt  bey  Marcus  Rordorf,  1732. 
Bodmer  completed  the  translation  eight  years  before  it  was  published. 
See  Th.  Vetter  in  Johann  Jakob  Bodmer  Denkschrift  Zum  CC.  Geburt- 
stag, p.  349,  Zürich,  1900. 

*Joh.  Jacob  Bodmers  Critische  Abhandlung  von  dem  Wunderbaren  in 
der  Poesie  und  dessen  Verbindung  mit  dem  Wahrscheinlichen  in  einer 
Verteidigung  des  Gedichtes  John  Miltons  von  dem  Verlornen  Paradiese; 
Der  beygefüget  ist  Joseph  Addisons  Abhandlung  von  den  Schönheiten  in 
diesem  Gedichte,  verlegts  Conrad  Orell  und  Comp..  Zürich.  1740. 

334 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  47 

zugeschrieben,  in  welcher  er  beynahe  die  gröszte  Vortrefflichkeit 
und  das  höchste  Gut  der  ersten  Menschen  zu  setzen  scheinet. 
Drydens  Adam  ist  sich  also  in  solchen  ungereimten  Ausschwei- 
fungen beständig  gleich,  Miltons  aber  scheinet  mir  von  seiner  ersten 
Hohheit  und  Obermacht  des  Verstandes  einen  plötzlichen  Sprung 
zu  solcher  auszschweiffenden  Leidenschaft  zu  thun."" 

Bodmer's  familiarity  with  The  Fall  of  Man  and  Dryden  is  again 
evident  from  the  commentaries  of  the  1742  edition  of  Milton's 
epic,  which  contain  numerous  citations  from  Dryden's  Play,  an 
analysis  and  criticism  of  the  scene  between  Eve  and  the  serpent,^ 
a  comment  from  Steele  on  the  bower  scene  which  apparently  was 
for  the  purpose  of  refuting  Addison's  contention,  that  Dryden  at 
times  offended  good  morals,'^  a  quotation  from  All  for  Love,^  and 
one  from  The  Flower  and  the  Leaf."^ 

The  translation  of  Dryden's  State  of  Innocence  was  probably 
hastened  by  Lauder's  Essay'^^  in  1750  in  which  he  accused  Milton 
of  plagiarism.  Although  the  accusation  was  at  once  proved  un- 
founded, it  revived  the  Gottsched-Bodmer  controversy  in  which 
Nicolai^^  and  Lessing'-  also  took  a  part,  and  because  of  its  close 

5  Ibid.,  p.  195. 

6  Bodmer  says  (p.  399)  :  "  Dryden  hat  in  seinem  Drama  von  dem  Fall 
der  Menschen  .  .  .  nicht  ohne  sonderbare  Kunst  gedichtet,  weil  Eva 
neben  dem  Baum  gestanden  und,  gewünschet,  dass  ihr  alle  andere  Bäume, 
nur  dieser  nicht  wären  untersagt  worden." 

^  Loco  citato,  p.  348  ff.  The  quotation  is  from  the  Tattler  No.  6,  which 
relates  the  liberties  a  Miss  Sappho  took  in  her  conversation,  but  which 
everj'  one  excused  because  they  knew  it  was  her  custom.  When  Mr. 
Bickerstaff  called  upon  her  she  had  just  broken  her  fan  on  which  Adam 
and  Eve  were  artistically  portrayed  asleep  in  paradise  with  arms  entwined. 
This  gave  occasion  for  the  reading  of  the  passages  on  the  theme  from 
Milton  and  Dryden  and  comparing  them. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  167.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  193. 

"^^  An  Essay  on  Milton's  Use  and  Imitation  of  the  Moderns  in  his 
Paradise  Lost,  London,  1750. 

11  Untersuchung  oh  Milton  sein  Verlohrenes  Paradies  aus  neuern  latei- 
nischen Schriftstellern  ati\-geschriehcn  habe.  Nebst  einigen  Anmerkungen 
über  eine  Recension  des  Landerischen  Buchs  von  Miltons  Nachahmung 
der  neueren  Schriftstellern.     Frankfurt  und  Leipzig,  1753. 

12  Lessing  reviewed  Nicolai's  work  in  the  Berlinischen  priv.  Zeitung, 
December  25th,  1753,  and  is  extremely  harsh  in  his  criticism  of  Gottsched. 

335 


48  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

relation  to  Paradise  Lost,  The  State  of  Innocence  also  became  in- 
volved.'^ Of  The  State  of  Innocence  three  translations  were 
made  in  Switzerland;^*  the  first  was  published  in  1754,'^  the  sec- 
ond in  1757,'"  and  the  third  in  1761."  The  translations  appeared 
anonymously,  but  from  the  following  evidence  I  conjecture  the 
first  to  belong  to  Simon  Grynaeus:  The  preface  is  signed  "G" 
and  a  "G"  appears  on  the  upraised  standard  of  the  etching  on 
the  frontispiece.  Grynaeus  was  in  the  habit  of  using  this  sig- 
nature in  his  letters  to  Bodmer;"  in  1753  Grynaeus  made  a  prose 
translation  of  Paradise  Regained,  to  which  he  added  a  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Milton;  this  translation  is  in  prose  and  has  a  sketch 
of  Dryden  added;  in  1756  he  translated  a  collection  of  English 
works  in  hexameters'^  and  merely  signed  his  name  to  the  preface; 
likewise  the  translation  of  Nathaniel  Lee's  poem  dedicated  to  The 
State  of  Innocence  and  prefaced  to  this  translation  is  in  hexam- 
eters and  only  the  preface  has  a  signature;  and  finally,  Grynaeus 

"  Gottsched  argued  that  The  State  of  Innocence  proved  conclusively 
that  Milton  was  a  plagiarist.  "  Das  Trauerspiel,  vom  Stande  der  Un- 
schuld, oder  Fall  des  Menschen,  welches  Dryden  aus  dem  miltonischen 
verlornen  Paradiese  gezogen,  gibt  endlich  den  vollkommensten  Beweis  ab; 
indem  es  zeiget,  dasz  dasjenige,  was  aus  einer  Tragödie  entstanden,  auch 
sehr  leicht  wieder  in  eine  Tragödie  verwandelt  werden  könne.  Nur  dieser 
merkliche  Unterschied  befindet  sich  unter  den  zween  Verfassern,  dass 
Dryden,  der  doch  eben  nicht  für  den  strengsten  Moralisten  bekannt  ist, 
frey  gestanden,  wem  er  seine  Erfindung  schuldig  wäre."  See  Das  neuste 
aus  der  Leipziger  Anmuthigen  Gelehrsamkeit,  p.  351,  1752. 

1*  I  had  access  only  to  the  first  translation,  and  to  the  two  scenes  pub- 
lished in  the  review  of  the  third  in  Amnuthige  Gelehrsamkeit,  p.  613  ff., 
1761. 

15  Der  Stand  der  Unschuld  und  Fall  des  Menschen.  Ein  aus  dem  Eng- 
lischen des  berühmten  Dryden  übersetztes  Scliauspicl.  samt  einer  Lehens- 
Beschreibung  des  Verfassers.  Franckfurt  und  Leipzig,  Zu  finden  in  der 
Buchnerischen  Handlung,  1754. 

'^^  Der  Fall  des  Menschen;  Ein  Schauspiel  aus  dem  Englischen,  Basel, 
1757. 

^''  Der  Fall  des  Menschen;  aus  dem  Englischen,  weiland  Herr  Dryden, 
Frankfurt  und  Leipzig,  in  der  Flcischcrischcn  Buchhandlung.   1761. 

18  See  Bodmer  Denkschrift,  p.  282. 

^^  See  Le'^sing's  Litcraturbrief,  39. 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  49 

was  interested  in  the  fall-of-man  theme  and  also  made  a  partial 
translation  of  Paradise  Lost.^'^ 

The  second  translation  was  made  by  Spreng.^^  The  third  trans-' 
lation  I  again  conjecture  to  be  the  work  of  Grynaeus.  It  could 
not  have  been  Spreng,  as  Gottsched  said  the  translator  had  given 
the  translation  to  Spreng,^^  who  changed  it.  In  the  review  which 
Gottsched  made  at  his  request,  as  he  tells  us,  he  characterizes  the 
translator  as  a  German  meriting  respect,  a  clever  fellow  who  was 
known  through  his  numerous  other  works.  This  characterization 
fits  Grynaeus,  who  had  made  a  number  of  classical  translations 
besides  that  of  the  Bible.  Moreover  he  was  also  a  theologian 
apparently  interested  in  the  theme,  and  as  stated  above,  had  used 
blank  verse  in  other  translations. 

The  1754  translation  is  a  literal  prose  rendering  of  the  text, 
showing  marks  of  the  Swiss  dialect  and  an  occasional  error  in 
translation.  Prefaced  to  the  text  are  Dryden's  Dedication  to 
the  Duchess  of  York,  and  his  Apology  for  Heroic  Poetry  and 
Poetic  License.  The  sketch  of  Dryden's  life  (20  pages),  taken 
from  the  London  Magazine  for  the  year  1752,  is  added  as  an  ap- 
pendix to  the  text.  This  as  well  as  the  Apology  for  Heroic 
Verse  is  an  important  contribution  so  early,  as  they  appeared 
only  four  years  after  the  translation  of  Voltaire's  Lettres,  and 
four  years  previous  to  Lessing's  translation  of  Dryden's  Essay. 
The  preface  of  the  translator  speaks  of  Dryden  as  if  he  were 
familiar  to  his  readers,  and  excuses  his  literal  prose  translation 
by  calling  attention  to  the  Nachtgedanken  and  other  poems  sub- 

-0  Baechtold,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Literatur  der  Schweiz,  pp.  486- 
488. 

21  The  review  in  Anmuthige  Gelehrsamkeit  (1761)  by  Gottsched  says: 
"  Vor  etlichen  Jahren  gab  der  Hr.  Uebersetzer  (of  the  third  translation) 
sie  dem  Hrn.  Prof.  Spreng,  der  nach  Belleben  damit  geschaltet  hat.  Er 
reimte  sie,  setzte  zu,  und  that  davon ;  und  ging  weit  von  Dryden  ab :  und 
so  gab  er  sie  unter  seinem  Namen  heraus.  So  sah  dann  die  Tochter  vor 
der  Mutter  das  Licht." 

Baechtold,  loco  citato,  says:  "  I7S3  uebertrug  er  (Spreng)  Dryden's 
Schauspiel  von  dem  Fall  des  Menschen  in  Blankversen.  ,  .  .  Dasselbe 
erschien  in  1757  zu  Basel  in  Druck." 

22  See  note  21. 

337 


50 


Milton  D.  Baumgartner 


ject  to  the  same  criticism.     The  lines  dedicated  to  the  translator 
by  B(odmer)  show  his  intimate  connection  with  the  translation. 

"  Du  stellst,  geehrter  Freund !  das  würdigste  Gedicht, 
So  Dryden  England  gab,  in  Deutschland  an  das  Licht 
Dein  Leser  wird  gewisz  sich  dir  verpflicht  erkennen, 
Und,  wann  er  Dryden  nennt,  auch  dich  mit  Achtung  nennen." 

Of  the  1757  translation  the  criticism  of  Baechtold  cited  above, 
that  it  is  in  blank  verse,  and  that  of  Gottsched,  that  Spreng  deviated 
from  the  original,  is  all  the  evidence  at  my  disposal.  The  1761 
translation  is  not  perfect,  as  is  seen  from  the  following  passages 
which  for  the  sake  of  comparison  are  added: 


1754. 


Act  I,  Scene  i. 


1761. 


1st  dieses  der  Wohnplatz,  wel- 
chen uns  der  Sieger  angewiesen 
hat?  Ist  dieses  das  Clima,  welches 
wir  für  den  Himmel  verwechseln 
müssen?  Dieses  sind  die  Gegen- 
den, die  Reviere,  welche  meine 
Waffen  erobert  hat;  Dieses  trauer- 
volle Reich  ist  des  Überwundenen 
Loosz :  In  flüszigen  Feuerbränden, 
oder  auf  einem  dürren  ausgedie- 
genen Lande  zu  wohnen,  hierinn 
bestehet  die  ganze  traurige  Ab- 
wechslung der  Hölle.  Aber  siehe, 
der  Sieger  hat  von  weitem  her 
seine  Kriegsknechte,  die  Stürme, 
seiner  Diener  der  Rache  zurück- 
berufen: Seine  Pfeile  sind  ver- 
schossen, und  seine  ermüdete  Don- 
ner schlafen;  Sie  brüllen  nicht 
mehr  durch  die  grenzenlose  Tiefe. 
Das  beste  wird  seyn,  wenn  wir 
diese  Feuermeere  verlassen,  alldie- 
weil uns  Müsse  dazu  uns  vergönnet 
ist. 


Ist    diesz    der    Sitz,    den    uns    der 

Ueberwinder  gab? 
Und  solchen  Tausch  dringt  er  uns 

für  den  Himmel  auf? 
Mein  Krieg  erwarb  diesz  Reich  und 

diese  Gegenden. 
Diesz  leidige  Fürstenthum,  ist   des 

Besiegten  Loos, 
Wo  theils  ein  flusz'ger  Brand,  theils 

Dürren  zu  bewohnen. 
Der      Höllen      einziger,      unseliger 

Wechsel  ist. 
Doch,    sieh,    es    ruft    dort    in    der 

Ferne  schon, 
Der  Sieger  seinen   Rachgewittern. 
Den  Dienern  seines  Kriegs,  zurück. 
Die  Pfeile  sind  verthan,  sein  müder 

Donner  schläft. 
Und   brüllt   nicht   mehr,    durch   die 

grenzlosen  Tiefen. 
Das  Beste  ist. 
Da  es  Gelegenheit,  und  Zeit  erlaubt 

und  giebt. 
Wir  winden  uns  aus  diesen  Feuer- 
wellen. 


338 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany 


51 


Act  V,  Scene  i. 


Mir  däucht,  ich  gehe  leichter 
davon ;  Meine  hurtige  Füsse  pral- 
len von  den  unbeschädigten  Blu- 
men zurück;  Ich  wandle  in  der 
Luft,  und  achte  mich  zu  gut  für 
diese  irrdische  Wohnung;  Der 
Himmel  ist  mein  Palast;  dieses  ist 
meine  schlechteste  Hütte.  Himmel, 
nimm  mich  nicht  zu  frühe  zu  dir; 
es  würde  was  unfreundliches  seyn, 
wenn  ich  meinen  Bettgeferten 
zurück  Hesse.  Ich  liebe  die  Un- 
glückseligen. Doch,  halt,  soll  ich 
ihm  Theil  hievon  geben?  Er  ist 
bereits  schon  zu  viel  mein  Herr. 
Nun  steht  es  bey  mir,  die  Herr- 
schaft an  mich  zu  bringen ;  und, 
weil  mein  Erkenntnis  grösser  ist, 
seinen  hochtrabenden  männlichen 
Sinn  zu  beugen. 


Mich  deucht  ich  trete  leichter  als 
zuvor. 

Mein  flinker  Fuss,  drückt  kaum 
den  Rasen  nieder. 

So  prellt  er  wieder  auf,  als  flög'ich 
in   der  Luft. 

Pfuy   dieses   Erdensitzes! 

Der  Himmel  ist  mein  Wohnpallast 

Diesz  Paradiesz  nur  eine  Neben- 
hütte. 

Doch,  Himmel,  nimm  mich  so  ge- 
schwind  nicht   auf, 

Es  wäre  hart,  den  Bettfreund  so 
zu  lassen. 

Der  Unglückselige!  ich  lieb'ihn 
dennoch  fort. 

Doch!  'Geb'ich  ihm  auch  Theil? 
Er  meistert  schon  zu  viel. 

Die  Einzelmeisterschaft,  steht  nun 
in  meiner  Macht, 

Und  da  ich  weiser  worden  bin, 

Ists  nun  an  mir,  die  Mannheit  ihm 
zu  beugen. 


C.  Oedipus 

From  the  French  the  Germans  borrowed  the  idea  of  translat- 
ing and  pubhshing  plays  in  collected  form.  The  first  collection 
of  English  plays  thus  translated  into  German  appeared  anony- 
mously at  Basel  in  1758  under  the  title:  Nene  Probestücke  der 
Englischen  Schaubühne  aus  der  Ursprache  iibersetst  von  einem 
Liebhaber  des  guten  Geschmacks. "^^  This  collection  which  Baech- 
told  ascribes  to  Grynaeus,^*  contains  nine  plays  by  Young,  Addi- 
son, Dryden  and  Lee,  Otway,  Shakspere,  Congreve,  Mason,  and 
Rowe.  Nicolai  in  his  review  found  fault  with  the  translation, 
but  commended  the  undertaking,  and  like  Lessing  in  the  Litcr- 
aturbrief  recommended  the  translation  of  Shakspere.-^'     Accord- 

23  See  Gottsched's  Zusätze,  p.  295,  Leipzig,  1765. 

2-*  Loco  citato,  p.  546  and  Anhang,  p.  174. 

25  Bibliothek  der  schönen  Wissenschaften,  VI,  pp.  60-74. 


339 


52  Milton  D.  Bawiigartner 

ing  to  Nicolai  the  iambic  pentameters  in  blank  verse  were  at  times 
so  jolting,  so  devoid  of  harmony,  so  full  of  dialect  [so  schweitzer- 
isch], that  prose  would  have  been  far  preferable.  Then  while 
here  and  there  a  passage  was  well  done,  others  were  insipid, 
tedious,  abounding  in  inartistic  and  unusual  expressions. 

The  first  play  in  the  third  volume  was  Oedipus,  ein  Trauerspiel 
in  fünf  Aufzügen,  ans  dem  Englischen  des  Herrn  John  Dryden 
und  Nathaniel  Lee.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  revival  of  Oedi- 
pus about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  Europe,  and  that 
accounts  for  the  translation  of  the  Play  by  Dryden  and  Lee.^®  In 
a  review  of  one  of  these  plays  in  the  Bibliothek  der  schönen  Wis- 
senschaften, the  criticism  that  Dryden  made  of  Sophocles'  Play  on 
the  same  theme  is  referred  to  by  the  reviewer.-' 

D.  All  for  Love 

Dryden's  best  play.  All  for  Love,  received  the  greatest  recog- 
nition in  Germany.  It  was  one  of  the  first  English  plays  read 
by  Bodmer^^  in  1723.  Citations  from  it  were  not  uncommon.^^ 
It  was  translated  and  used  as  a  source  for  a  German  play  after 
Shakspere's  play  on  the  same  theme  had  been  translated  by 
Wieland  and  Eschenburg.  The  first  translation  was  made  by 
Schmid  in  1769^°  under  the  title  Kleopatra.  Schmid  was  not  a 
master  of  English  and  many  glaring  errors  crept  into  the  trans- 
lation. He  learned  to  know  the  Play  through  Prevost's  French 
translation  which  appeared  in  Paris  in  1735.^^     While  he  regarded 

26  Voltaire's  play  gave  the  first  impulse  in  this  revival.  In  1748  his 
Oedipus  was  translated  at  Braunschweig,  and  in  1749  at  Vienna.  See 
Gottsched's  Nöthiger  Vorrath  zur  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Dramatischen 
Dichtkunst,  pp.  328,  333,  etc.,  Leipzig,  1757. 

27  VII,  Stück  2,  p.  2)2(>.  1762.  The  review  is  of  the  Drei  neuen  Trauer- 
spiele, nämlich  Johanna  Grey,  Tokenburg  und  Odip,  Zürich,  1761. 

28  See  Bodmer  Denkschrift,  p.  322. 

29  See  note  to  p.  167  of  Bodmer's  1742  translation  of  Paradise  Lost,  and 
Aesthctik  in  einer  Nuss,  p.  384. 

30  Christian  Heinrich  Schmid,  Englisches  Theater,  bey  Dodsley  und 
comp.,  Frankfurt  und  Leipzig,  1769.  All  for  Love  is  in  the  second  volume, 
page  I  ff. 

81  See  Schmid's  Theorie  der  Poesie,  p.  471,  and  British  Museum  Cata- 
logue under  Dryden. 

340 


Dry  den's  Relation  to   Germany  53 

All  for  Love  as  Dryden's  masterpiece,  he  did  not  give  his  trage- 
dies a  high  rank.  "  Seine  Trauerspiele  haben  mehr  Tragische 
Sprache,  als  tragische  Situationen  und  wie  er  selbst  gesteht,  liesz 
er  sich  darinnen  oft  zum  Pöbel  herab,  oder  ward  übertrieben, 
wenn  er  erhaben  sein  wollte."^-  Reviews  of  Schmid's  transla- 
tions appeared  in  the  Göttingischen  Anzeigen  für  Gelehrten 
Sachen,^^  and  in  the  Almanach  der  deutschen  Musen.  The  latter 
commends  the  undertaking,  but  bewails  the  lack  of  unity  and  calls 
it  "  Eins  der  deklamierenden  Trauerspiele."^* 

A  second  translation  appeared  anonymously  at  Mannheim  in 
1781  under  the  title  :  Alles  für  Liehe,  ein  Trauerspiel  in  fünf  Auf- 
zügen. Aus  dem  Englischen  des  Dry  den.  Mannheim  became 
prominent  as  a  literary  center  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  One  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  Mannheim 
literary  group  was  Professor  Anton  von  Klein.^^  He  was  editor 
in  chief  of  the  collection  of  foreign  translations,  in  which  a  re- 
vised edition  of  Eschenburg's  Shakspere  translation  also  appeared. 
Dalberg  and  Gemmingen,  also  active  members  of  the  group,  trans- 
lated an  Englisches  Theater.  All  for  Love  was  the  first  play 
included  in  this  collection.  In  the  preface  the  editor  says  that 
good  translations  of  English  and  French  plays  are  always  wel- 
come, but  that  for  the  most  part  Germany  can  not  be  proud  of 
her  translations,  as  they  do  not  include  the  best  plays  and  contain 
numerous  errors.  He  then  points  out  some  of  the  errors  in 
Schmid's  translation  of  AH  for  Love^  which  he  considers  one  of 
the  best  English  plays.  "  Es  sind  wenige  Stücke,  selbst  unter  den 
shakspearischen,  worinn  mehr  grosze  und  herrliche  Züge  vorkom- 
men als  in  diesem.  Die  Charaktere  sind  vortrefflich  gezeichnet. 
Der  Plan  ist  sehr  gut  ausgelegt  und  das  ganze  fast  durchaus  gut 
geführt.  Indessen  hat  es  seine  kleinen  Flecken  und  seine  gros- 
zen  Fehler.  .  .  .  Hier  übergiebt  man  das  Trauerspiel  getreu  nach 
dem  Original  in  die  Hände  des  Publikums  um  den  groszen  Mann, 

32  Loco  citato,  p.  471. 

33  P.  1290,  1769. 

3*  For  1770,  p.  176. 

35  See  B.  Seuffert,  "  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Gesellschaft  in  Mannheim 
in  Ans.  für  d.  Altertum,"  VI,  p.  276  ff. ;  and  J.  H.  Heinzelmann,  "  Pope  in 
Germany  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  Modern  Philology,  X,  p.  348  ff. 


54  Milton  D.  Baumgartncr 

den  erhabnen  Verfasser  in  seiner  Grösse  unci  Schwäche,  so  wie  er 
ist,  zu  zeigen. "^° 

The  translation  is  in  prose  and  is  on  the  whole  well  done,  but 
the  beginning  of  Act  II  will  show  that  the  translator  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  always  rendering  the  text  "  getreu  nach  dem  Original "  : 

Kleopatra,  Iras  und  Alexas 

K.  "Was  soil  ich  thun,  oder  wohin  soll  ich  mich  wenden?  Ventidius  hat 
gesiegt,  und  er  wird  gehen. 

A.  Er  geht  für  dich  zu  kämpfen. 

K.  Dann  würde  er  mich  sprechen,  ehe  er  ginge.  Schmeichle  mir  nicht; 
ist  er  einmal  fort;  so  ist  er  verloren;  und  alle  meine  Hoffnungen 
sind  vernichtet. 

A.  Kömmt  diese  schwache  Leidenschaft  einer  mächtigen  Königinn  zu? 

K.  Ich  bin  keine  Königinn.  Heiszt  das  eine  Königinn  seyn,  wenn  man 
von  jenen  stolzen  Römern  ('yon  insulting  Roman')  belagert  ist  und 
jede  Stunde  des  Siegers  Ketten  erwartet?  Dies  sind  die  geringen 
Uebel :  Antonius  ist  verloren,  und  ich  kann  in  der  Welt  für  nichts 
als  für  ihn  trauren.  Itzt  komm  Octavius !  ich  habe  nichts  mehr  zu 
verlieren ;  bereite  deine  Bande ;  nun  kann  ich  eine  Gefangene  seyn : 
Antonius  verläszt  mich — es  ist  ein  Glück,  eine  Sklavinn  zu  seyn. 
("I'm  fit  to  be  a  captive:  Antony 
Has  taught  my  mind  the  fortune  of  a  slave.')" 

All  for  Love  was  also  one  of  the  sources  for  a  play  at  Vienna, 
where  at  this  time  the  English  influence  on  the  theater  displaced 
the  French. ^^  In  1783  Cornelius  Hermann  von  Ayrenhoff's  trag- 
edy, Kleopatra  und  Antonius,  was  performed  at  the  royal  theater 
of  Vienna.  In  the  introduction  the  author  mentions  Shakspere, 
La  Chapelle,  Lohenstein,  and  Dryden  as  sources.  He  used  only 
the  German  translations  of  the  plays  of  Shakspere  and  Dryden ; 
in  the  latter  case  it  was  the  Mannheim  Alles  für  Liehe}^ 

3^  Vorrede,  p.  xix. 

37  Emil  Horner,  "  Das  Aufkommen  des  Englischen  Geschmacks  in 
Wien,  und  Aurenhoffs  Trauerspiel,  Kleopatra  und  Antonius."  Euphorion, 
II,  pp.  556-571  and  7^2-797. 

3s  Whether  Leopold  Neumann's  duodrama  on  the  Antony  and  Cleo- 
parta  theme,  published  at  Dresden  in  1780,  was  connected  with  Dryden's 
play,  I  was  unable  to  determine,  as  I  did  not  have  access  to  the  play. 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  55 

2.  The  Tempest  or  the  Enchanted  Island,  A  Source  for 
Boomer's  Noah 

No  other  plays  of  Dryden  were  translated  in  Germany  during 
the  eighteenth  century,  but  Bodmer  incorporated  lines  and  situ- 
ations from  The  Tempest,  or  The  Enchanted  Island  (1670).  As 
early  as  1743  he  spoke  of  the  beauty  of  innocence  as  depicted  in 
The  Enchanted  Island  and  The  Conquest  of  Mexico.^°  Three 
years  later  he  translated  a  number  of  lines  from  The  Tempest, 
which  he  prefaced  with  "  In  einem  Engell.  Schauspiel,  die  bezau- 
berte Insel  betietelt,  wird  ein  junger  Mensch  eingeführt,  der  nie- 
mals keine  Frauenpersonen  gesehen  hat ;  ihm  eine  Furcht  vor  ihnen 
einzujagen,  beschreibt  sie  ihm  sein  Oheim  also:  Bilde  dir  ein  Mit- 
telding zwischen  jungen  Männern  und  Engeln  ein  .  .  .  .  "^^ 

Later  this  situation  and  a  number  of  others  from  The  En- 
chanted Island  were  incorporated  by  Bodmer  in  his  epic,  Noah. *'^ 
In  Dryden's  Tempest  Prospero,  Duke  of  Milan,  brings  up  his  two 
daughters  and  Hippolito,  heir  to  the  Dukedom  of  Mantua,  in  exile 
on  an  enchanted  island,  keeping  them  ignorant  of  the  opposite  sex. 
Bodmer  similarly  depicts  the  three  sons  of  Noah  and  the  three 
daughters  of  Sipha,  who  were  isolated  from  the  world,  being  in- 
closed by  mountains.  As  Prospero  warns  his  charges  against  the 
wildness  of  man  and  the  enticing  danger  of  women,  so  the  sons 
•of  Noah  and  the  daughters  of  Sipha  were  similarly  warned. 

The  parallel  passages  follow. 

Prospero  describes  women  to  Hippolito  as : 

"  Something  between  young  men  and  angels  .  .  . 
Calm  sleep  is  not  so  soft;  nor  winter  suns 
Nor  summer  shades,  so  pleasant.  .  .  . 
Their  voices  charm  beyond  the  nightingales  " : — II,  2. 

Japhet,  Noah's  youngest  son,  described  the  maidens  thus : 

■"  Sie  sind   ein   Mittelding  zwischen   Jüngling  und   Engel.     Der   Schlaf   ist 
Nicht  so  sanft,  als  ihr  Thun,  noch  die  kühlenden  Schatten  so  lieblich, 
Als  ihr  erquickender  Mund:  Musik  ist  in  jeglichem  Worte,"  III,  595  ff. 

^°  Critische  Schriften.  VII,  p.  9. 

4°  Der  Maler  der  Sitten,  I,  pp.  419-420,  Zürich,  1746. 

■*^  Der  Noah,  in  Zwölf  Gesängen.     Zürich,  bey  David  Geszner,  1752. 

343 


c6  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

In  reply  to  Prospero's  description :  "  Those  who  once  behold 
them  are  made  their  slaves  forever,"  Hippolito  says: 

"Can  they  be  fairer  than  the  plumes  of  swans?  .  .  . 
Or  than  the  gloss  upon  the  neck  of  doves? 
Or  have  more  various  beauty  than  the  rainbow?"  II,  2. 

Sham  asks  Japhet : 

"1st  sie  so  fürchterhch  grosz,  ist  der  Mädchen  Schönheit  so  Sieghaft? 
Können  sie  heller  seyn,  als  die  weissen  Federn  der  Schwäne, 
Oder  anmutiger,  als  der  Glanz  am  Nacken  der  Dauben? 
Oder  sind  ihre  Farben  verschiedner  und   feiner  vertheilet, 
Als  der  träufelnde  Staub,  der  die  Sonnenstrahlen  gebrochen,"  III,  582  ff. 

At  first  sight  both  Hippolito  and  Japhet  believe  the  maidens  to 
be  children  of  the  heavenly  sun. 

"What  thing  is  this?     Sure  'tis  some  infant  of  the 
Sun,  dressed  in  his  father's  gayest  beams, 
And  come  to  play  with  birds  " :  II,  3. 

"...  0  flieht  nicht,  Kinder  der  himmlischen  Sonne,  .  .  . 
Schön  geschmückt  ...  in  der  hellsten  Farben  der  Sonne,  .  .  . 
Mit  dem  schlechtem  Schmuck  der  Blumen  zu  spielen." 

The  first  sight  Dorinda  gets  of  Hippolito  has  the  same  effect 
upon  her  as  the  first  sight  of  Japhet  has  upon  the  three  daughters, 
of  Sipha : 

"At  first  it  stared  upon  me,  and  seemed  wild, 
And  then  I  trembled ;  yet  it  looked  so  lovely. 
But  when  I  would  have  fled,  my  feet 
Seemed  fastened  to  the  ground  ..."  Ill,  2. 

"  Eben  so  schienen  die  Mädchen  bestürzt,  und  standen  erstaunt  da. 
An  den  Boden  der  Fusz,  das  Aug  an  Japhet  geheft."     I,  141-142. 

Hippolito  and  Ferdinand  are  described  as  a  bud  and  a  full- 
blown flower : 

"  For  shortly,  my  Miranda,  you  shall  see 
Another  of  his  kind,  the  full-blown  flower 
Of  which  this  youth  was  but  the  opening  bud."     Ill,  2. 

344 


Dry  den's  Relation  to   Germany  57 

Japhet  compares  his  lovely  maid  to  the  opening  bud,  and  her 
sisters  to  full-blown  roses : 

"  Eine  nicht  völlig  entwickelte  Rosenknospe,   .   .   . 
Zwo  entfaltete  Rosen  in  ihrer  vollkommenen  Blühte."     III,  621  ff. 

Both  Ferdinand  and  Japhet  believe  their  fair  ones  to  be  divine 
apparitions : 

"  Fair  Excellence !  if,  as  your  form  declares. 
You  are  divine,  be  pleased  to  instruct  me  how 
You  will  be  worshiped;  so  bright  a  beauty 
Cannot  belong  to  human  kind."     Ill,  5. 

"Schönste  Gestalt  des  Menschen,  vernimm  die  flehende  Bitte; 
Bist  du.  ich  muss  es  billig  besorgen,  von  himmlischer  Ankunft. 
So  entdecke,  mit  welchem  Gehorsam  kann  ich  dich  halten !"     I,  166  ff. 

The  feelings  which  Hippolito  and  Japhet  experience  when  they 
first  touch  the  hands  of  the  maidens  are  akin: 

"...  there  is  something, 
When 'I  touch  yours  (hand)  which  makes  me  sigh:  .  ,  . 
Yet  mine's  a  pleasant  grief;  ..."     II,  3. 

"  Aber  voraus  durchlief  mich  ein  zärtlich  fliessender  Schmerzen. 
Mit  so  lieblichen  Schlägen ;  dass  ich  vor  süszer  Empfindung 
Seufzete,  da  ich  die  Hand  des  einen  Mädchen  ergriffen."     III,  616  ff. 

Both  Hippolito  and  Japhet  are  haunted  by  the  fear  of  losing 
their  fair  maids  through  other  lovers : 

"And  would  you  have  her  too?     That  must  not  be: 
For  none  but  I  must  have  her."     Ill,  4. 

"Lasset  mir  die,  und  theilet  euch  in  den  übrigen  beyden;  .  .  . 
Was  für  ein  Unmuth  droht  in  mein  Gemuthe  zu  schleichen. 
Wenn  ein  andrer  sich  um  die   schöne  Blume  bemühte."     III,  623  ff. 

This  fear  is  allayed  by  the  replies  of  Ferdinand  and  Sham : 
'AH  beauties  are  not  pleasing  alike  to  all."     Ill,  4. 
"Jegliche  Schönheit  thut  nicht  den  gleichen  Anfall  auf  alle."     III,  692. 

345 


58  Milton  D.  Baumgar Iner 

CHAPTER  IV.     The  Fables  and  Poetic-Classical 
Translations 

The  fables^  of  Dryden  were  more  popular  in  Germany  than  his 
•dramas.  Although  written  in  his  old  age,  they  have  a  charm  and 
sprightliness  which  today  still  give  them  a  high  rank  among  his 
works.  Their  poetic  charm  may  be  attributed  to  the  nature  of  the 
composition.  Inasmuch  as  the  translations  were  free,  the  author 
could  concentrate  his  efforts  upon  the  form  and  meter.  It  was 
this  elegance  of  form  which  appealed  to  the  German  poets,  and  in 
turn  influenced  their  form. 

Dryden's  fables  were  reviewed  early  in  Germany.  About  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  attained  their  highest  popu- 
larity, and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  century  they  were  again  re- 
vived; it  was  at  this  time  that  Alexander's  Feast,  on  account  of 
its  lyrical  elements,  was  so  highly  esteemed  as  an  ode  among  the 
Germans.  A  commendatory  Latin  review  of  the  fables  appeared 
at  Leipzig  in  the  same  year  in  which  they  were  published  in  Eng- 
land.^ Four  of  the  fables  in  this  collection :  Philemon  and  Baucis, 
Cymon  and  Iphigenia,  The  Cock  and  the  Fox,  and  Theodore  and 
Honoria  found  their  way  into  Germany,  the  last  two  being 
translated. 

Philemon  and  Baucis  was  a  source  for  a  fable  with  the  same 
title  by  Hagedorn  (i7oS-i754).^  Hagedorn's  fondness  for  the 
fable,  upon  which  his  fame  as  a  poet  rests,  drew  him  to  La  Fon- 
taine, Gay,  and  Prior  more  frequently  than  to  Dryden,  whose 
fables  he  however  learned  to  know  during  his  stay  in  England  in 
1729. 

In  his  Philemon  and  Baucis  (1739)  Hagedorn  introduces  more 
of  the  idyllic  and  naive  element,  dwelling  on  some  details  which 
Dryden  merely  indicated.  In  his  versification,  however,  the  in- 
fluence of  Dryden  and  his  pupil  Pope,  is  more  evident.      He  em- 

^  Fables,  Ancient  and  Modern,  Translated  into  Verse  from  Homer, 
Ovid,  Boccace,  and  Chancer,  with  Original  Poems,  London,  1700. 

2  Acta  Euriditornm  .  .  .  ,  pp.  321-325,  Lipsiae,  1700. 

3  The  Göttinger  Zeitung  von  Gelehrten  Sachen  (p.  loS,  1739)  reviews 
Hagedorn's  fables,  and  calls  attention  to  Dryden  as  one  of  the  sources  for 
Philemon  and  Baucis. 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  59 

ploys  their  iambic  pentameter,  but  at  times  expands  it  into  six 
feet,  or  contracts  it  into  four.  Similarly  he  occasionally  substi- 
tutes alternating  rhyme  for  their  rhymed  couplets.  In  a  number 
of  his  other  fables  and  poems  he  uses  the  iambic  pentameter 
rhymed  couplet  throughout,  or  as  in  Philemon  and  Baucis,  substi- 
tutes it  for  the  alternating  rhyme.* 

^  Like  Hagedorn,  Bodmer  and  his  friends  were  also  interested 
in  the  fables  of  Dryden.  Spreng  esteemed  Drydcn  as  a  poet  and 
fable-writer.^  "Seine  Fabeln,"  he  says,  "verdienen  den  Beifall 
aller  Kenner."  In  1742  Bodmer  quoted  and  translated  the  first 
six  lines  of  The  Flower  and  the  Leaf.^  He  was  also  fascinated 
by  the  idyllic  character  of  Cymon,  and  wished  Gleim  to  make  use 
of  Bocaccio's  Cymon  for  a  Schäferspiel.'  For  the  ensuing  two 
years  in  their  correspondence  Bodmer,  Sulzer,  Gleim,  and  Ramler 
discussed  the  writing  of  a  Schäferspiel  on  the  same  theme.  Bod- 
mer first  suggested  to  Gleim  that  Hagedorn  or  Rost  make  use  of 
the  material,^  but  later  himself  made  a  prose  sketch  and  wished 
Gleim  or  Kleist  to  put  it  into  verse.''  That  Gleim  seriously  con- 
sidered writing  on  the  theme  is  apparent  from  his  subsequent 
letter.  "  Ich  las  neulich  den  '  Timon  des  Dryden ' ;  die  Fabel 
schien  mir  bequemer  zu  einer  Erzählung,  als  zu  einem  theatrali- 
schen Stücke.  .  .  .  entweder  ich,  oder  einer  meiner  Freunde,  den 

4  In  Herrn  Friedrich  von  Hagedorns  Poetische  Werke  bey  Johann  Carl 
Bahn,  3  vols.,  Hamburg,  1757,  the  following  imitate  the  meter  of  Drj'den 
and  Pope:  Der  Ursprung  des  Grübchens  im  Kinne,  II,  186-184;  Der  Falk, 
II,  293-304;  Aurilius  und  Beizebub,  II,  122;  Paulus,  Purgenti,  und  Agnesi, 
II,  179-185;  An  einen  Maler,  I,  152;  An  Murtzerpheus,  I,  167;  Auf  einen 
ruhmredigen  und  schlechten  Maler,  I,  170;  Wohlthaten,  I,  171;  Unter- 
richt für  einen  Reisenden,  I,  205;  Horaz,  I,  100-122.  For  Horaz  see 
Muncker  in  D.  N.  L.,  XLV,  p   31. 

5  See  note  to  page  219  of  his  edition  of  DroUingers  Gedichte,  Frank- 
furt am  Mayn,  bey  Frantz  Barrentrapp,  1745. 

''See  Bodmer's  1742  edition  of  his  translation  of  Paradise  Lost,  note  to 

P-  193- 

^  Briefe  der  Schweizer  Bodmer,  Sulzer,  und  Gessner  aus  Gleims  litter- 
arischem Nachlass  herausgegeben  von  Wilhelm  Kürte.  Zürich,  bei  Hein- 
rich Gessner,  1804.  See  Bodmer's  letter  to  Gleim,  dated  July  11,  1745 
(p.  15). 

8  Loco  citato,  Bodmer  to  Gleim,  July  11,  1745  (p.  15). 

^  Idem,  Sulzer  to  Gleim,  January  23.   1747   (p.  43). 

347 


6o  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Plan  bebauen  wird."^°  Gleim  had  previously  asked  Ramler  to 
put  it  in  verse,  for  in  a  letter  to  Gleim  the  latter  writes :  "  Cimon 
ist  ein  artiges  Stück,  und  verdient  den  Klang  des  Silbenmasses, 
aber  geben  Sie  es  Uzen,  wenn  Sie  es  durchaus  von  sich  ablehnen 
wollen.  ...  Es  ist  aus  Drydens  Erzählung  genommen,  worin  unter 
anderen  der  Vers  steht:  Er  pfiff  indem  er  ging  aus  Mangel  der 
Gedanken.  .  .  . "" 

While  Cymon  and  Iphigenia  was  discussed  by  a  group  of  poets, 
The  Cock  and  the  Fox  was  translated  in  Germany.  The  Spec- 
tator (no.  621)  quoted  the  description  of  spring  (lines  455-460) 
which  Mrs.  Gottsched^-  translated  in  her  usual  happy  manner : 

"  Darauf  wandt  er  sich  und  sprach  zum  Partlet :  Sieh  mich  Freund, 
Wie  die  Natur  das  Jahr  so  reich  und  schön  geschmücket; 
Die  blasse  Schlüsselblum  und  die  Viol  erscheint, 
Da  sich  der  Vogel  Hals  zum  Singen  wieder  schicket. 
Diesz  alles  ist  für  uns,  wo  ich  mit  Freuden  seh. 
Wie  mich  der  Mensch  begaff  und  auf  zwey  Beinen  geh." 

In  1758,  however,  a  complete  translation  of  The  Cock  and  the 
Fox  was  published  in  the  Neuen  Erweiterungen  der  Erkentnis 
und  des  Vergnügens.  This  monthly  magazine,  published  at  Frank- 
furt and  Leipzig,  devoted  itself  to  sketches  of  English  writers, 
and  to  translations  of  their  works.  The  first  number  contains  a 
sketch  of  the  life  of  Dryden,  "  eines  groszen  englischen  Dichters 
des  siebzehnten  Jahrhunderts."^^  The  sixty-seventh  number  con- 
tains a  lame  prose  translation  of  Dryden's  fable.  The  Cock  and 
the  Fox,  which  was  based  on  The  Nwi's  Priest  Tale  of  Chaucer." 

1°  Idem,  Gleim  to  Bodmer,  April  29,  1747. 

^'^Briefwechsel  zwischen  Gleim  und  Ramler,  hrsg.  von  Schüddekopf. 
I,  p.  78,  Tübingen,  1906.     Ramler  to  Gleim,  March  2,  1747. 

12  Der  Zuschauer,  VIII,  p.  274,  2d  edition,  Leipzig,  1749.  The  beautiful 
description  of  May  also  appeared  in  The  Spectator  (V,  no.  365).  taken 
from  Palcmon  and  Arcite,  Bk.  II,  lines  55-57,  and  Bk.  I,  176-180, 
beginning: 

"  Für  dich,  du  erste  nicht,  doch  die  schönste  Zeit  des  Jahres, 
Sieht  man  so  Feld  als  Wald,  die  grünen  Kleider  tragen  ..." 

13  X,  pp.  52-65,  1753- 

^*Der  Fuchs  und  der  Hahn.  Eine  Erzählung  aus  dem  Englischen  des 
Dryden,  Stück  62,  pp.  97-125. 

348 


Dry  den's  Relation   to   Germany  6i 

The  translator's  task  was  made  more  difficult  through  Dryden's 
retention  of  some  of  the  obsolete  words  of  the  Middle  English. 
Whenever  the  translator  found  a  word  or  an  expression  he  was 
unable  to  translate,  he  either  omitted  it  entirely,  or  substituted  an 
idea  of  his  own.  The  defects  of  the  translation  are  apparent  from 
the  subjoined  opening  and  closing  lines. 

"In  alten  Zeiten  lebte,  wie  uns  die  Schriftsteller  erzählen,  eine 
Wittwe,  die  schon  etwas  bey  Jahren  und  sehr  arm  war.  Ihre  mit 
Stroh  gedekte  Hütte  stand  einsam  unter  dem  Schatten  eines 
Waldes.  (Deep  in  a  cell  her  cottage  lonely  stood.  Well  thatched, 
and  under  covert  of  a  wood.)  Diese  Wittwe,  auf  welche  sich 
meine  Erzählung  gründet,  führte  nach  dem  Tode  ihres  Mannes, 
ein  schlechtes  aber  ruhiges  Leben,  und  hatte  genug  zu  ihrem 
Unterhalte.  ..." 

"  Besser,  Herr  Hahn,  sagte  Reinart,  setzet  allen  Streit  bey  Seite, 
kommt  herunter,  und  laszt  uns  einen  Frieden  schliessen.  (let  us 
treat  of  peace)  Einen  Frieden;  von  ganzem  Herzen?  versetzte 
Chenteclär ;  aber  mit  eurer  Erlaubnis,  ich  will  ihn  hier  oben  schlies- 
sen; und  wenn  der  Friede  mit  Verrätherey  sollte  verknüpft  seyn, 
so  ist  es  wenigstens  mein  Vortheil,  ('Tis  my  concern)  den  Baum 
zwischen  uns  zu  haben." 

While  Theodore  and  Honoriawsis  not  translated  by  Eschenburg 
he  prints  the  English  text  in  his  Beispielsammlung }'"  He  prefaces 
the  text  with  a  characterization  of  Dryden  as  a  fable  writer,  in 
which  he  places  him  above  Boccaccio,  and  ranks  his  fables  among 
his  best  works.  .  .  .  ''  Seine  Fabels,  oder  Erzählungen,  aus  dem 
Homer,  Ovid,  Boccaz  und  Chaucer  geschöpft,"  he  says,  "  schrieb 
er  erst  in  seinen  letzten  Lebensjahren;  sie  gehören  aber  zu  seinen 
besten  Arbeiten,  und  verrahten  durchaus  einen  sehr  gebildeten 
Geschmack  und  wahres  dichterisches  Gefühl.  Man  darf  folgende 
Erzählung  nur  mit  der  Novelle  im  Boccaz  vergleichen,  aus  welcher 
ihr  Stoff  genommen  ist,  um  des  englischen  Dichters  Ueberlegen- 
heit  in  der  Erzählungsgabe,  und  den  mannichfachen  Antheil  seines 

"^^  Beispielsammlung  zur  Theorie  und  Literatur  der  schönen  Wissen- 
schaften von  Johann  Joachim  Eschenburg,  BerHn  und  Stettin,  1788-1795. 
Theodore  and  Honore  are  in  I,  pp.  126-138,  1788. 

349 


62  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Genies  und  der  .stanzen  Ausführung  überall  wahrzunehmen.  Be- 
sonders haben  die  beschreibenden  Stellen  aufifallende  Vorzüge." 
Theodore  and  Honoria^^  was  later  translated  by  Bürde,  a  lyri- 
cist of  note,  who  included  the  translation  among  his  works. ^^  The 
favorable  criticism  of  Eschenburg,  no  doubt,  as  well  as  the  poetic 
elements  of  the  fable,  fascinated  Bürde.  Like  Kosegarten,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  he  does  not  follow  the  original  slavishly,  but  aims 
to  give  it  poetic  expression.  To  accomplish  this  he  freely  ex- 
pands the  fable,  and  influenced  by  the  varying  rhyme  of  Dryden's 
Alexander's  Feast  he  uses  a  fluctuating  rhyme.  The  rhymed 
couplet  of  the  original  he  changes  to  aa,  abba,  and  abab  which 
tends  to  enliven  his  translation.  While  he  retains  the  iambic 
pentameter  of  Dryden,  like  Hagedorn,  he  at  times  contracts  it  into 
four  feet.  The  added  lines  from  the  opening  of  the  translation 
will  show  the  hand  of  the  poet  and  the  deviations  from  Dryden 
in  matter  and  form. 

"  Trotz  irgend  einer  Stadt  des  Alterthums, 
War  einst  Revenna  im  Besitz  des  Ruhmes 
Der  Waffen,  der  Gelehrsamkeit,  und  Kunst : 
Die  Reichen  waren  frey  von  niedrem  Geize, 
Die  Groszen,  zart  empfänglich  für  die  Reize 
Des  Schönen,  gingen,  ohne  Stolz,  mit  Gunst 
Und  milder  Spende  dem  Talent  entgegen; 
Doch  unter  allen  ragte  Theodor, 
Der  Edle,  durch  Geburt,  Gestalt,  Vermögen, 
Und  selbst  erworbnen  Ruhm  hervor. 
Und  doch  vi^ard  seine  Brust  von  stillem  Grame 
Zernagt.     Zu  seinem  Unglück  sah 
Er  einst  die  schönste  junge  Dame; — 
Denn  dafür  galt  Honoria^ 
Bey  Männern-ohne  Wiederrede." 

That  the  popularity  of  Dryden's  fal)les  was  enduring  in  Ger- 
marv,  the  criticism  of  Bouterwek  will  suffice  to  show.  "  Die 
poetischen  Erzählungen,"  he  says,  "die  er   (Dryden)  unter  dem 

16  In  the  Introduction  to  the  fable  Scott  calls  it:  "The  most  admirable 
poem  of  its  kind  ever  written."     XI,  463-476. 

^"^  Poetische  Schriften  von  Sam.  Gottlieb  Bürde.  Erster  Theil,  pp.  117- 
131.     Breslau  und  Leipzig,  bei  Wilhelm  Gottlieb  Korn,  1803. 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  63 

Titel  Fabeln  (Fables),  nach  Chaucer,  Boccaz,  und  einigen  andern 
Dichtern,  noch  in  seinen  alten  Tagen  schrieb  haben  zwar  nicht  die 
charakteristische  Naivetät  der  Erzählungen  des  französischen 
Üichters,  Lafontaine;  aber  sie  gehören  doch  zu  den  gelungensten 
Werken  dieser  Art  in  der  neueren  Litteratur."^^ 

Closely  related  in  spirit  to  Dryden's  fables  are  his  poetic-class- 
ical translations.  Of  these  the  complete  translations  of  Virgil,  and 
the  partial  translation  of  Homer  and  Ovid  are  the  most  noted,  and 
indeed  the  favor  with  which  they  were  received  incited  Dryden 
to  take  up  the  translation  of  the  fables.  His  classical  translations, 
especially  that  of  Virgil,  found  early  recognition  in  Germany. 
The  Beyträge  zur  CritiscJien  Historie  der  deutschen  Sprache  und 
Beredsamkeit  (1732)  contains  a  review  of  the  German  transla- 
tion of  Virgil  which  states :  "  Wenn  ihm  eine  Stelle  des  Grund- 
textes etwas  dunkel  geschienen,  hat  er  das  fürtreffliche  englische 
Virgil  Drydens  in  3  Octavbänden  nachgeschlagen.  ..."  The 
same  review  asserts  that  Dryden  immortalized  the  M etamorphoses 
of  Ovid.  The  Beyträge  also  reviews  a  translation  of  Anacreon 
in  which  it  commends  the  classical  translations  of  Pope,  Creek, 
and  those  of  Dryden. 

The  citations  from  Dryden's  classical  translations,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  were  quoted  indicate  that  they  were  generally 
known  in  Germany.  König,^^  for  instance,  quotes  from  his  Ovid 
and  Virgil  translations  and,  contrary  to  his  manner  of  dealing 
with  other  English  authors,  finds  it  unnecessary  to  enlighten  his 
readers  in  regard  to  Dryden  and  his  works.  Spreng  says  of  Dry- 
den's Latin  translations :  "  Er  hat  verschiedene  lateinische  Poeten 
in  englische  Verse  gebracht,  und  sonderlich  durch  die  Übersetz- 
ung des  Virgil  einen  ewigen  Namen  bei  seinen  Landsleuten  er- 
worben."-'' The  Brittische  Bibliothek  (1757)  twice  commends 
Dryden's  translation  of  Virgil  (pp.  89  and  328).  Lessing  was 
also  familiar  with  the  Virgil  translation,  and  refers  to  it  in  his 

18  Loco  citato,  VIII,  p.  52. 

13  Untersuchung  von  der  Einsylbigen  Wörtern  in  der  Teutschcn  Dicht- 
kunst von  Johann  Ulrich  König  ausgefertigt,  appended  to  the  life  and 
works  of  Besser,  pp.  887  and  889.     Leipzig,  1732. 

-•^  See  note  to  Drollingers  Gedichte,  p.  219. 


JD 


U 


64  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Laokoon;-''-  and  even  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  Blank- 
enburg  wrote  of  Dryden's  translation  of  Virgil's  Aeneas:  "  Unter 
den  poetischen  Uebersetzungen  wird  die  von  Dryden  noch  immer 
für  die  Beste  gehalten. "^^ 


CHAPTER  V.     The  Lyrics 

I.  Dryden's  Fame  as  a  Lyricist  in  England  Due  Largely  to 
Alexander's  Feast 

While  his  fables  and  classical  translations  found  favor,  no  other 
work  of  Dryden  elicited  so  much  commendation  from  the  best 
critics  and  poets  of  England  and  Germany  as  his  lyrics.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  Alexander's  Feast,  or  the  Power  of  Music, 
an  ode  written  in  honor  of  Saint  Cecelia's  Day.  A  brief  account 
of  its  reception  in  England  will  aid  in  better  understanding  the 
reception  accorded  it  in  Germany.  At  the  time  of  its  first  appear- 
ance it  was  recognized  as  a  lyric  of  unusual  merit,  and  the  number 
of  single  editions  alone  in  the  eighteenth  century,  more  than  a 
dozen  in  number,  exceeded  that  of  any  of  his  other  works. ^  This 
recognition  continued  throughout  the  eighteenth  century,  and  even 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  it  was  still  considered  the  best 
English  lyric-  Dryden  himself  regarded  it  as  his  greatest  literary 
effort.^     It  also  called   forth  the   favorable  criticism  of   Pope,* 

21  Lessings  Werke,  IX,  part  I,  p.  43. 

22  Zus'dtse,  I,  p.  17a,  1796. 

1  See  British  Museum  Catalogue  under  Dryden,  p.  46  flf. 

2  The  two  greatest  biographers  of  Dryden  are  boundless  in  their  praise, 
holding  Alexander's  Feast  to  be  not  only  the  greatest  English  lyric  but  the 
greatest  lyric  in  all  literature.  Malone  designates  it  "  the  greatest  com- 
position of  its  kind  in  the  English  language"  in  his  Critical  and  Miscel- 
laneous Prose  Works  of  John  Dryden,  .  .  .  ,  I,  p.  285,  London,  1800.  Scott 
says :  "  In  lyrical  poetry  Dryden  must  be  allowed  to  have  no  equal. 
'Alexander's  Feast'  is  sufficient  to  show  his  supremacy  in  that  brilliant 
department."     See  Scott-Saintsbury,  I,  p.  409. 

3  In  a  letter  to  his  publisher,  Tonson,  he  wrote:  "I  am  glad  to  hear 
from  all  hands  that  my  ode  is  esteemed  the  best  of  all  my  poetry  by  all 
the  town.  I  thought  so  myself  when  I  writ  it,  but  being  old  I  mistrusted 
my  judgment."     See  Scott-Saintsbury,  XI,  p.  46. 

*  From  the  beginning  of  his  career,   Pope   was  an   ardent  admirer  of 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  65 

Ayres,^  Young,^  Warton/  and  Brown,*  besides  odes  on  the  same 
thenie  by  Addison,  Congreve,  and  Pope,  while  Jeremiah  Clark  and 
Handel  set  it  to  music. 

A.  Musical  Compositions  a  Potent  Factor  in  Perpetuating  Alex- 
ander's Feast 

These  musical  compositions  for  Alexander's  Feast  aided  materi- 
ally in  perpetuating  its  renown  as  a  lyric.'' 

Clark's  composition  was  made  for  its  first  presentation,  and  was 
repeated  at  least  three  times  in  London  shortly  after  the  first  reg- 
ular performance.  As  a  musical  performance,  however,  Alex- 
ander's Feast  seems  to  have  been  attended  with  only  moderate 
success  until  Handel's  composition  revived  it  in  1736,  when  it  was 

Dryden.  In  his  Essay  on  Criticism  he  lays  down  the  essentials  of  genuine 
poetry,  insisting  that  poetry  must  have  more  than  cadence  and  rhyme,  that 
the  words  must  convey  the  thought  and  action  conforming  with  the 
theme.    Alexander's  Feast  he  cites  as  such  a  poem  (lines  374-383). 

s  Ayers  in  his  work  on  Pope  asserts  that  Pope  was  urged  by  his  friends 
to  write  a  Cecelia  ode  with  the  hope  that  it  would  bring  him  great  renown 
as  it  had  Dryden,  but  that  it  was  evident  that  he  was  unable  to  cope  with 
his  predecessor.  See  Gottsched's  review  of  Ayres'  Memoirs  of  the  Life 
and  Writings  of  Alexander  Pope  (London,  1745)  in  Neuem  Büchersaal 
der  schönen  Wissenschaften  und  freycn  Künste,  I,  p.  142,  Leipzig,  1745. 

*^  Young  says  in  his  Essay  on  Lyrical  Poetry,  The  Works  of  the  Author 
of  the  Night's  Thoughts,  vol.  6,  p.  164,  London,  1778,  that  in  his  opinion 
Dryden's  ode  is  equal  to  any  work  of  similar  nature,  and  praises  especially 
the  varying  meter  corresponding  with  the  mood  depicted. 

"^  Warton  is  most  profuse  in  his  praise  of  the  ode,  "  which  places  the 
British  lyric  poet  above  that  of  any  other  nation."  See  Essay  on  th" 
Writings  and  Genius  of  Pope,  H,  p.  20. 

^  Brown  introduces  it  several  times  in  his  treatise  on  poetry  and  music, 
commending  its  popularity  due  to  its  simplicity,  and  its  power  over  our 
emotions.  See  Dr.  Bron'n's  Betrachtungen  über  Poesie  und  Musik  .  .  . 
übersetzt  von  Joachim  Eschenburg  mit  Anmerkungen,  pp.  367  and  393, 
Leipzig,  1769. 

^  Both  Malone  and  Scott  have  given  a  history  of  the  patron  saint  of 
music,  and  of  the  odes  written  and  performed  in  commemoration  of  Saint 
Cecelia's  Day,  which  was  celebrated  in  London  by  the  Musical  Society  and 
throughout  all  Europe  by  music  lovers.  Dryden  furnished  the  odes  for 
two  of  these  commemorations  (1687  and  1697).  The  first  was  entitled:  A 
Song  for  Saint  Cecelia's  Day;  the  second,  Alexander's  Feast. 

353 


66  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

performed  at  the  Royal  Theater  in  Covent  Garden  under  the  com- 
poser's direction  with  marked  success,  according  to  press  reports.^* 
The  frequent  subsequent  performances  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent  were  due  to  the  excellency  of  Handel's  composition. 
That  this  composition  contributed  to  the  popularity  of  the  lyric 
itself  is  evident  from  the  numerous  new  single  editions  of  the  ode 
appearing  immediately  after  Handel  set  it  to  music. ^^ 

B.  Rcasojis  for  the  Favorable  Reception   of  Dryden's   Ode  in 

Germany 

As  in  England,  the  favorable  reception  of  Dryden's  ode  in  Ger- 
many was  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  prevailing  enthusiasm  for 
lyrical  and  emotional  poetry,  and  to  the  accompanying  revival  of 
music.  Shortly  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  Ger- 
man poetry  gradually  changed  from  the  rational  and  descriptive 
to  the  imaginative  and  lyrical.  Gottsched  under  the  influence  of 
the  French  championed  the  cause  of  the  rational  and  moral  ele- 
ments in  poetry,  while  Bodmer  and  Breitinger  under  the  influence 
of  Addison  and  Alilton  advocated  the  imaginative  and  wonderful 
as  prerequisites  for  real  poetry. 

Descriptive  poetry  was  brought  into  Germany  through  Thom- 
son's Seasons,  and  influenced  Brockes'  Irdisches  Vergnügen  in 
Gott,  Haller's  Die  Alpen,  Kleist's  Der  Frühling,  and  similar  poems. 
The  protest  against  descriptive  poetry  was  raised  first  in  England. 
Pope  condemned  it  very  severely.^-     \\^arton  took  up  the  issue 

10  The  London  Daily  Post  and  General  Advertiser  for  February  20,  says : 
"...  there  never  was,  upon  like  occasion,  so  numerous  and  splendid  an 
audience  at  any  theater  in  London,  there  being  at  least  thirteen  hundred 
persons  present;  ....  It  met  with  general  applause."  Scott-Saintsbury, 
I,  note  to  p.  344. 

11  British  Museum  Catalogue.     See  under  Dryden,  p.  46  ff. 

1- In  his  Prologue  to  his  Satires  Pope  says  of  descriptive  poetry: 
"...   who   could  take  offence. 
While  pure  Description  held  the  place  of   Sense?"    (1.   147) 
Warburton  in  his  edition  of  Pope  makes  the  following  comment  on  the 
above  passage:  "He  uses  'pure'  equivocally,  to  signify  either  chaste  or 
empty;  and  has  given  in  this  line  what  he  esteemed  the  true  character  of 
descriptive  poetry,  as  it  is  called.     A  composition,  in  his  opinion,  as  absurd 
as  a  feast  made  up  of  sauces." 

354 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  67 

agajnst  Pope,  asserting  that  descriptive  poetry  was  a  sister  art  of 
landscape  painting,  and  claiming  that  those  who  condemn  Thom- 
son must  also  condemn  the  greater  part  of  Lucretius,  and  the 
Georgics  of  Virgil. ^^  In  reviewing  the  attitude  of  Warton  Men- 
delssohn points  out  the  weakness  of  his  arguments.  "  Ohne  uns 
eigentlich  wider  die  malerische  Poesie  zu  erklären,  glauben  wir, 
dass  die  Gründe  unsers  Verfassers  nichts  beweisen.  ...  So  ver- 
schwistert  die  Dichtkunst  und  Malerei  sind,  so  hat  doch  eine  jede 
Kunst  ihre  angewiesenen  Grenzen,  die  durch  das  Werkzeug  der 
Sinne,  für  welches  sie  arbeiten,  bestimmt  werden.  Virgils  Landbau 
und  Lukrezens  Natur  der  Dinge  scheinen  uns  von  Thomsons  Jahres- 
zeiten wesendlich  unterschieden  zu  sein.  Die  Römer  wollen  eigent- 
lich unterrichten,  und  malen  nur  zu  Veränderung ;  der  Engländer 
hingegeben  hat  keine  andere  Absicht  als  zur  malen. "^*  This  stand 
taken  by  ^Mendelssohn  in  1759  reflects  the  general  trend  growing  up 
in  Germany  against  descriptive  poetry.  Lessing  more  clearly  than 
his  predecessors  defines  the  fields  of  poetry,  painting,  and  music 
in  his  epoch-making  work,  Laokoon.  With  Pope,  whom  he 
quotes,^^  he  agrees  that  descriptive  poetry,  per  se,  is  puerile.  Had 
the  principles  which  Lessing  laid  down  in  Laokoon  appeared 
earlier,  descriptive  poetry  could  never  have  gained  such  a  foot- 
hold in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

The  literary  enthusiasm  of  Germany  at  this  time  was  expressed 
by  the  lyrical,  imaginative,  and  emotional  poems,  as  is  shown  by  the 
number  of  translations  and  imitations  of  the  odes  of  Horace,  and 
the  songs  of  Anacreon,  made  by  such  poets  as  Hagedorn,  Gleim, 
Ramler,  and  Weisse.  The  ode  was  regarded  as  the  best  vehicle 
for  poetic  enthusiasm.  Wieland  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Zimmermann 
in  1758:  "  Sie  wissen  ohne  mich,  dass  der  poetische  Enthusiasmus 
eigentlich  für  die  Ode  ist.  Der  Poet  ist  da  ganz  im  Affect,  und 
gleichsam  ausser  sich  selbst."^"     The  odes  of  Klopstock,  express- 

^^  Loco  citato,  I,  p.  49. 

1* "  Moses  Mendelssohn.  Versuch  über  Popens  Genie  und  Schriften" 
in  Bibliothek  der  Schönen  Wissenschaften,  IV,  500-532  and  627-669, 
Berlin,  1758  and  1759  (p.  512  flf.). 

"^^  Lessing s  Werke,  IX,  p.  104,  in  D.  N.  L. 

^'^'  Ausgewchlte  Briefe  von  C.  M.  Wieland  an  verschiedene  Freunde  in 
den  Jahren  1731  bis  1810  geschrieben,  I,  p.  263,  Zürich,  1815. 

355 


68  Milton  D.  Banmgartner 

ing  deep  emotions  of  religion,  patriotism,  and  love,  even  though 
often  bordering  on  sentimentality,  furthered  this  movement  of 
poetical  enthusiasm  which  culminated  in  the  theories  set  up  by 
Herder,  that  the  folk-songs  contained  the  highest  poetical  elements 
of  all  poetry,  since  they  express  the  genuine  national  feelings  and 
emotions  of  a  people,  even  if  such  poetry  belong  in  the  category  of 
occasional  poetry  to  which  the  Saint  Cecelia  odes  belonged.^'  In 
1778  Herder,  influenced  by  Percy's  Rcliqnes,  made  his  collection 
of  Sthniiicn  der  Völker  to  prove  his  theories  in  regard  to  folk- 
songs. 

With  the  growth  of  poetical  enthusiasm  in  Germany,  the  awak- 
ening of  musical  interest  went  hand  in  hand,  directly  increasing 
the  appreciation  of  Handel's  compositions  for  Alexanders  Feast 
and  indirectly  the  appreciation  for  the  ode  itself  as  a  lyric.  Natu- 
rally the  folk-songs  were  written  to  be  sung  and  not  read,  and 
spread  among  the  masses.  Ramler's  interest  in  this  popular  move- 
ment is  evident  from  the  number  of  "  Kriegslieder  "  and  cantatas 
he  himself  wrote,  and  from  the  collection  and  edition  of  the  two 
volumes  of  German  songs  published  in  1758  with  the  aid  of 
Krause,  a  composer  of  considerable  note,  the  author  of  a  book  on 
musical  poetry,  and  the  reviser  of  Handel's  composition  for  Alex- 
ander's Feast}^ 

The  revival  of  the  popular  song  was  accompanied  with  the  re- 
vival of  the  operetta  which  came  in  vogue  through  Weisse's  "  Sing- 
spiele," set  to  music  by  Hiller.  Although  the  former  was  not  a 
great  opera  writer  nor  the  latter  a  really  great  composer,  the  oper- 
ettas resulting  from  their  combined  efforts  became  extremely  pop- 
ular and  opened  the  way  for  better  operas  and  more  classical  music, 

1'  In  England  the  movement  for  the  collection  of  old  songs  and  ballads 
was  begun  by  Dryden,  Dorset,  and  others,  and  culminated  in  Bishop 
Percy's  Reliques  (1765).  The  Spectator  [no.  71]  commended  the  move- 
ment, and  Hagedorn  and  Herder  attributed  to  it  the  great  lyrical  poetry  of 
the  English.  For  Hagedorn,  see  his  introduction  to  Oden  und  Lieder  in 
fünf  Büchern,  Hamburg,  1747;  for  Herder,  see  his  chapter  "Von  der 
Achnlichkeit  der  mittlem  englischen  und  deutschen  Dichtkunst,"  first 
published  in  the  Deutschen  Museum  (i777)- 

18  See  Ramler's  biography  appended  to  his  Poetischen  ll'crkcn,  11,  314. 
Bcrhn.  1801. 


"^  Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  69 

such  as  Handel's  .llcxandcr's  Feast  and  his  Messiah,  and  the 
compositions  of  Ghick^'*  and  Mozart. ^'^  The  latter  rescored  Alex- 
ander's Feast  in  1790. 

Undoubtedly  the  translation  of  favorable  English  criticism  of 
Alexander's  Feast  also  greatly  aided  the  reception  accorded  Dry- 
den's odes,  and  hastened  their  translation  in  Germany.  Most  of 
this  criticism  was  incidental  in  connection  with  Pope,  whose  popu- 
larity was  then  at  its  greatest  height  in  Germany.  These  transla- 
tions and  reviews  of  them  were  made  by  Drollinger,  Gottsched, 
the  Britischen  Bibliothek,  Mendelssohn,  and  Nicolai.  Drol- 
linger's  translation  of  the  Essay  on  Criticism,  containing  the  eulogy 
of  Alexander s  Feast,  was  published  by  Bodmer  in  ly^i.^'^  Pope 
regarded  the  ode  as  an  illustration  of  real  poetry,  which  stirs  and 
moves  us.  In  the  words  of  Drollinger's  translation:  "Höre  die 
veränderlichen  Thöne  des  Thimotheus,  wie  sie  uns  rühren,  wie 
sie  den  Begierden  gebieten,  wechselweise  zu  steigen  und  zu  fallen. 
Man  schauet  den  Sohn  des  Lybischen  Jupiters  nach  jeder  Tonver- 
änderung bald  brennend  von  Ruhmbegierde,  bald  weich  von  Liebe. 
Aus  seinem  wilden  Blicken  funkeln  jztWuth  und  Rasen,  und  jzt 
bricht  er  in  Seufzer  aus,  und  zerschmelzt  in  Thränen.  Perser  und 
Griechen  finden  gleiche  Regungen  bey  sich,  und  den  Weltbe- 
zwinger bezwingen  die  Thöne.  Noch  jzo  müssen  alle  Herzen  die 
Macht  der  Musik  bekennen,  und  was  einst  ein  Thimotheus  war, 
ist  jzt  ein  Dryden."-^  Apparently  Drollinger  was  inspired  by 
this  criticism  to  also  write  a  Saint  Cecelia  ode,  for  which  he  chose 
the  same  title  used  by  Pope,  Anf  die  Miisik,  and  at  least  the  open- 
ing lines  show  similarity : 

"  Auf,  rühret  euch  ihr  muntern  Saeten, 
Und  flammet  meine  Geister  an, 

^°  Gluck  also  planned  a  composition  of  Alexander's  Feast.  See  Otto 
Jahn's  Gesammelte  Aufsätze  über  Musik,  p.  227,  Leipzig,  1867. 

20  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians,  p.  52,  New  York,  1890. 

21  Critische  Schriften,  I,  pp.  49-84.  It  is  reedited  with  notes  by  Johann 
Jakob  Spreng  in  Herrn  Carl  Drollingers  Gedichte,  samt  ander  dazu  ge- 
hörigen Stücken.  Franckfurt  am  Main,  1745.  Drollinger  made  the  trans- 
lation at  least  two  jxars  before  it  was  first  published.  See  letter  to  Gott- 
sched, dated  March  12,  1739,  in  Gedichte,  p.  327. 

--  Loco  citato,  L  p.  69. 

357 


70  '  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

Damit  ich  euren  Trefflichkeiten, 
Ein  würdigs  Opfer  bringen  kan/'^s 

It  is  also  quite  probable  that  he  knew  Dryden's  ode,  for  he  would 
not  be  apt  to  translate  the  eulogy  of  Alexander's  Feast,  and  then 
write  an  ode  to  music  without  consulting  that  of  Dryden. 

Gottsched's  review  of  the  work  of  Ayers  on  Pope-*  indicates  the 
interest  in  the  Saint  Cecelia  odes,  and  Pope's  intimate  connection 
with  the  introduction  oi  Alexander' s F east  into  Germany.  It  con- 
cludes with  the  statement:  "Allein  es  zeigte  sich,  dass  er  [Pope] 
kein  so  guter  Kenner,  derer  zur  Musik  sich  schickenden  Wörter 
war,  als  Dryden  gewesen."-'* 

The  Essay  of  Warton  was  more  widely  disseminated  in  Ger- 
many than  any  other  English  criticism  of  Alexander's  Feast.  The 
Brittische  Bibliothek,  published  at  Leipzig  in  1757  and  following, 
in  reviewing  the  Essay  says :  "  Das  Fest  des  Alexanders,  ein  Ge- 
dicht von  Dryden  ist  das  beste  lyrische  Stück  der  Engländer.  .  .  . 
er  [der  Verfasser]  bedauert  zugleich,  dass  Popens  Ode  nicht  eben- 
sowohl als  Drydens  von  Handeln  in  Noten  gesetzt  sei."-° 

Mendelssohn  published  an  extensive  review  of  Warton's  Essay 
in  the  Bibliothek  des  schönen  Wissenscliaften  wherein  he  dis- 
cusses Dryden's  odes.  Of  the  second  he  says :  "  Drydens  Alex- 
anders Fest  hält  er  [Warton]  für  das  vortrefflichste  unter  den 
neuern  lyrischen  Gedichten,  und  räumt  der  popischen  Ode  auf  die 
Musik  die  zwote  Stelle  nach  diesem  Gedichte  ein."-' 

23  Loco  citato,  p.  78. 

^'^  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Alexander  Pope,  2  vols.,  Lon- 
don, 1745- 

^^  Neuer  Büchersaal  der  schönen  Wissenschaften  und  freyen  Künste,  l, 
p.  142,  Leipzig,  1745. 

26  n,  377  (1757).  The  Brittische  Bibliothek  also  points  out  the  favor- 
able reception  of  Handel's  composition  in  connection  with  the  "  Life  of 
Handel "  published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  April  and  May.  1760. 
"Kurz  nach  seiner  Zurueckkunft  (to  London  from  the  Baths  at  Aachen 
in  1736)  wurde  sein  Fest  des  Alexanders  in  Covington-Garden  aufge- 
führt und  wohlaufgenommen,"  V,  201,  1760.  Again  in  reviewing  the 
Sketches;  or  Essays  on  various  subjects  by  Temple  published  in  London 
in  1759,  the  harmonious  verses  of  Dryden  are  commended.  "  Dryden's 
Verse  hätten  mehr  Harmonie,  als  jemals  Verse  gehabt  hätten."  IV,  p.  591. 
1759- 

27  IV,    p.    314,     1758- 

358 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  7 1 

In  1763  Nicolai,  the  co-worker  of  Mendelssohn  and  Lessing. 
made  a  literal  translation  without  comment  of  Warton's  Essay, 
which  he  published  in  the  "  Sammlung  der  vermischten  Schrif- 
ten."^* His  prominent  position  as  editor  of  the  Bibliothek,  as 
critic  and  publisher,  assured  the  translation  of  the  Essay  a  wide 
circulation  among  German  scholars.  It  is  significant  to  note,  as 
we  shall  see,  that  the  translation  of  the  ode  of  Dry  den  was  also 
published  in  1763. 

Four  years  previously  Nicolai  had  translated  the  Essay  on  Lyr- 
ical Poetry-^  by  Young  to  whom  Warton  dedicated  his  Essay. 
Young  took  a  national  pride  in  Dryden's  ode  which  Nicolai  trans- 
lated as  follows :  "  Allein  nach  dem  allem  muss  ich  zur  Ehre  uns- 
res  Vaterlandes  noch  hinzusetzen,  dass,  nach  meinem  Urtheil,  des 
Drydens  Ode  auf  den  Tag  der  heiligen  Cäcilia  keiner  Arbeit  von 
dieser  Art  etwas  nachgebe.  Ihre  vornehmste  Schönheit  besteht 
darinnen,,  dass  sie  einen  Sylbenmass  hat,  welches  auf  das  Glück- 
lichste zur  Abwechslung  der  Umstände  gewählt  ist."^° 

C.  Translations  of  Alexanders  Feast 

During  the  eighteenth  century  Alexander's  Feast  was  translated 
in  Germany  by  Weisse,  Ramler,  Kosegarten,  Nöldeke,  and  T — r, 
followed  by  many  other  translators  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth. Weisse's  translation  was  published  in  the  "Anhang"  of 
his  Schertzhaften  Lieder^^  in  1763,  together  with  the  translations 
of  the  Cecelia  odes  of  Pope  and  Congreve.  His  esteem  for  Dry- 
den  is  intimated  in  his  review  of  Brown's  ode,  The  Cure  of  Saul, 
an  imitation  of  Alexander's  Feast,  which  likewise  appeared  in 
1763.  "  Die  Erfindung,  Die  Heilung  Sauls  betietelt,  wäre  der 
Ausführung  eines  Dryden  wohl  würdig  gewesen,  da  sie  unter  des 
V.  (Verfassers)  Händen  mittelmässig  gerathen  ist."^^ 

Ramler  made  two  translations  of  Dryden's  ode  which  were 

28  Friedrich  Nicolai,  Sammlung  der  vermischten  Schriften,  VI,  p.  i-end. 
Berlin,  1763. 
28  Loco  citato,  II,  pp.  206-219. 

30  Ibid.,  p.  214. 

31  The  text  at  my  disposal  was  the  Kleine  lyrische  Gedichte,  III,  pp. 
157-172,  published  at  Leipzig  in  1772. 

3-  Bibliothek  der  schönen  Wissenschaften,  X,  p.  175. 

359 


72  Milton  D.  Bawngartner 

printed  in  1766  and  1770  respectively.  The  second  translation 
was  a  revision  of  the  first  and  was  included  in  his  Lyrischen  Ge- 
dichten^^ in  1772  and  in  subsequent  editions  of  his  works.  The 
first  was  set  to  music  by  Krause  who  modernized  Handel's  compo- 
sition. The  revised  translation  was  said  to  have  been  made  at  the 
request  of  Princess  Amalia,  a  sister  of  Frederick  II,  who  desired 
a  German  text  for  Handel's  music. ^^  It  was  performed  a  num- 
ber of  times  at  Berlin. 

Kosegarten  (1758-1818)  won  recognition  as  a  lyricist  through 
his  three  volumes  of  rhapsodies,  including  many  translations  of 
English  lyrics.  The  third  volume  of  the  rhapsodies  contained  among 
others,  translations  of  the  Saint  Cecelia  odes  of  Dryden,  Pope, 
and  Congreve,  previously  translated  by  Weisse,  to  which  he  also 
added  Smart's  ode  on  the  same  theme. ''^  Kosegarten's  transla- 
tion of  Alexander's  Feast,  however,  had  already  been  published 
by  Schiller  in  the  "  Alusenalmanach  "  for  the  year  1800.^® 

In  the  same  year  the  translation  of  Nöldeke  and  that  of  the 
anonymous  T — r  were  published  in  the  "  Neuen  Teutschen  ^ler- 
kur,"  edited  by  Wieland.^^  That  Dryden's  ode  had  gained  its 
greatest  popularity  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  is 
evident  from  the  close  succession  in  which  new  translations  were 
published,  for  it  also  appeared  at  Zürich  in  1805,^*  and  again  at 
Vienna  in  1812."^ 

33  Karl  Wilhelm  Ramler,  Lyrische  Gedichte,  pp.  :i02,-2,^6.  Berlin,  1772. 
For  the  separate  translations  of  1766  and  1770  see  Goedeke,  IV,  p.  loi. 
The  texts  at  my  disposal  were  the  reprint  in  C.  D.  Edeling's  Hamburg- 
ischen Unterhaltungen,  X,  pp.  83-89.  Hamburg,  1770;  Ramler's  1772  edi- 
tion just  cited,  and  his  Poetische  Werke,  II,  pp.  49-55-     Berlin,  1801.  • 

•^*  See  "  Anmerkungen  "  to  Ramler's  translation  in  Poetische  Werke,  II, 
p.  272.     Edeling  in  a  note  to  the  text  mentions  Krause's  composition. 

35  Rhapsodieen  von  Ludwig  Theobul  Kosegarten,  III,  p.  5  ff.  Leipzig, 
1801.     The  first  volume  appeared  1790. 

36  Musen-AImanach  für  das  Jahr  1800.  herausgegeben  von  Schiller,  pp. 
185-198,  Tübingen. 

37  Der  neue  teutsche  Merkur,  10.  Stücke,  pp.  81-93,  Oktober,  1800  . 

38  "  Die  drei  Hymnen  auf  den  Cäcilientag  von  P.  [opel,  Congreve  und 
Dryden  mit  metr.  Treue  aus  dem  Engl.  übrs. :  Isis  Mtssch.  usw."  Zürich, 
1805.     März  S.  193/2TO.     See  Goedeke,  VII.  p.  716. 

39  Dichtungen   der  Britten   in  metr.   Übersetzungen  von   Johann  Baptist 

360 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  73 

4.  Comparison  of  the  Translations 

Before  taking  up  the  comparison  of  the  translations  of  the  Ode, 
Dryden's  versification  will  be  analyzed  in  brief.  Throughout  the 
verse  is  irregular  in  rhyme  and  meter,  but  the  rhymed  couplet  and 
the  iambic  tetrameter  predominate.  The  meter  varies  in  length 
from  two  to  seven  feet ;  in  the  two,  three,  and  four  foot  verses 
the  iambus,  trochee,  and  anapest  are  employed,  while  in  the  five, 
six,  and  seven  foot  measures  only  the  iambus  appears,  but  there 
are  comparatively  few  of  these  longer  verses.  As  was  his  custom, 
Dryden  interspersed  the  rhymed  couplet  with  triplets;  here  and 
there  the  alternating  rhyme  is  substituted  for  the  couplets. 

In  their  translations  of  Dryden's  ode  Weisse  and  Ramler  fol- 
lowed the  original  rather  closely  in  thought,  but  Kosegarten  fre- 
quently deviated  from  the  source  according  to  his  fancy.  While 
differing  from  each  other,  these  three  translations  embodied  the 
spirit  of  the  original  and  the  characteristics  of  each  translator  as 
a  lyricist.  Weisse  imitated  Dryden  in  a  general  way  in  both  rhyme 
and  meter,  but  often  varied  the  number  of  feet  in  a  verse.  Al- 
though Ramler  had  the  groundwork  of  Weisse  to  build  on  and 
discarded  the  rhyme,  his  task  was  more  difficult,  since  he  followed 
the  original  absolutely  in  the  number  of  feet  in  order  to  adapt  it 
to  Handel's  music.  Kosegarten  worked  independently  of  the  orig- 
inal, using  blank  verse  interspersed  with  passages  in  rhyme.  Dry- 
den's 141  verses  Weisse  expanded  into  148,  Kosegarten  into  183, 
while  Ramler  naturally  kept  the  original  number.  The  transla- 
tions of  Nöldeke  and  T — r  lacked  the  poetic  finish  of  the  other 
three,  but  that  of  Nöldeke  was  far  superior  to  that  of  T — r.  Both 
endeavored  to  follow  Dryden  in  rhyme  and  meter ;  in  rhyme  Nöl- 
deke more  nearly  approached  him  than  any  of  the  others  and  both 
retained  approximately  the  same  number  of  lines  found  in  the 
original. 

D.  German  Criticism  of  the  Original  and  the  Translations 

Both  the  original  and  translations  of  Alexander's  Feast  called 

Rut>prccht.  Erster  Bd.  Wien,  1812.  The  title  is :  "  Alexanders  Fest, 
oder  die  Gewalt  der  Musik,  eine  Ode  zu  Ehren  des  St.  CäciUen-Tages,"  S. 
392/400.     Gocdckc,  VII,  p.  699. 

361 


74  Milton  D.  Batungartner 

forth  criticism  in  Germany  from  such  poets  as  Hagedorn,  Herder, 
Eschenburg,  Boie,  Schubart,  and  Böttiger.  Hagedorn,  who  had  trav- 
eled in  England,  was  familiar  with  Dryden,  Waller,  Sidney,  Addi- 
son and  Prior,  and  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Pope  and  at  every 
opportune  occasion  commends  or  quotes  from  his  works.  In  the 
foreword  to  his  odes  he  discusses  the  beauty  of  the  irregular  verse 
of  Homer  and  other  classicists  to  which  he  adds :  "  Von  gleicher 
Beschaffenheit  sind  die  fürtrefflichen  Oden  des  Dryden,  Congreve, 
Addison,  und  vor  allen  andern,  des  Pope  auf  das  Fest  der  heiligen 
Caecilia."*° 

No  other  German  critic  has  so  frequently  and  thoroughly  criti- 
cized Alexander's  Feast  as  Herder.     His  interest  for  Dryden's  ode 
grew  out  of  his  natural  inclination  for  poetic  enthusiasm  such  as 
he  found  expressed  in  this  ode,  his  fondness  for  varying  rhyme 
and  meter,  and  his  esteem  for  Saint  Cecelia  and  Handel.     Two 
years  after  Ramler's  translation,  when  he  was  just  beginning  his 
career  and  Hamann  had  but  introduced  him  to  Shakespere  and 
Ossian,  Herder  cites  the  ode  in  the  Fragmente,  in  discussing  the 
advisability  of  the  Germans  adopting  the  harmonious  meter  of  the 
English,  which  Hagedorn  had  already  commended.     While  he  did 
not  entirely  agree  with  Lessing's  disapproval  of  descriptive  poetry, 
he  maintained  that  Brockes  and  others  had  over-stressed  natural 
description.     He  believed  in  "Wohllaut"  in  poetry,  but  it  must 
have  life  and  move  the  emotions  by  clearly  visualizing.     "Man 
laufe  die  Reihe  dieser  Klageworte  durch;  oder  besser  man  em- 
pfinde   den   Wohllaut    derselben    in   unsern   Dichtern,    die    nicht 
schrieben  sondern  sangen,  unter  welchen  ich  Klopstock,  Hage- 
dorn, von  Gerstenberg,  und  in  seinen  Kantaten  auch  Rammlern, 
besonders  nenne :  man  gehe  z.  E.  die  Uebersetzung  durch,  die  der 
letzte  von  Drydens  Ode  auf  die  Musik  geliefert,  alsdenn  errinnere 
man  sich,  wie  weit  Brockes  und  andere  diesen  lebendigen  Wohl- 
klang haben  übertreiben  können,  und  man  wird,  wie  ich  hoft'e, 
nicht  mehr  an  der  malenden  ]\hisik  zweifeln.''*^ 

In  the  Zerstreuten  Blättern  Herder  has  a  chapter  on  "  Cecelia  " 
in  which  he  traces  her  legend  and  cites  the  odes  of  Dryden,  Addi- 

40  Oden  und  Lieder  in  fünf  Büchern,  p.  xxxii  flf.     Hamburg.  1747. 
*i  lieber  die  neuere  Deutsche  Litteratur,  Fragmente,  p.  72,  Riga,  1768. 

362 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  75 

son,  Pope,  Congreve,  and  Handel's  musical  composition  for  Alex- 
ander's Feast  as  classical  masterpieces  composed  for  her  celebra- 
tion.*^ At  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter  he  adds  a  religious 
rhapsody.  Die  Tonkunst.*^ 

To  Herder  the  religious  song,  the  hymn,  was  the  highest  and 
most  natural  expression  of  music  and  reverence;  but  he  was  not 
an  extremist  in  his  romanticism  for  the  religious  hymn  in  the 
sense  of  Klopstock,  nor  did  his  enthusiasm  carry  him  to  the  ex- 
tremes of  a  Novalis,  for  instance,  for  whom  feeling  was  every- 
thing. In  the  Adrastea  he  writes :  "  denn  Andacht,  dünkt  mich, 
ist  die  höchste  Summe  der  Musik,  heilige  himmlische  Harmonie, 
Ergebung  und  Freude.  Auf  diesem  Wege  hat  die  Tonkunst  die 
schönsten  Schätze  erbauet,  und  ist  zum  Innersten  der  Kunst  ge- 
langet. .  .  .  Die  tiefste  Grundlage  der  heiligen  Musik  ist  wohl  der 
Lobgesang,  Hymnus;  ich  möchte  sagen,  er  sei  dem  Menschen 
natürlich."**  He  does  not  reckon  Alexander's  Feast  among  the 
sacred  odes,  but  says  it  is  a  worthy  greeting  to  Saint  Cecelia, 
because  it  is  a  melody  appealing  to  the  heart  [Herzensmelodie],  a 
national  melody  expressed  in  simple  tones. 

In  1780  Herder  translated  Pope's  Messiah^^  for  which  Handel 
had  composed  an  oratorio.  However  in  the  biography  of  Handel 
he  ranked  the  composition  for  Alexander's  Feast  the  greatest  and 
most  enduring  of  all  his  compositions.  "Alexanders  Fest,  das 
er  nach  seiner  Rückkunft  (von  Aachen)  gab,  schaffte  ihm  nicht 
nur  die  Gunst  der  Nation  wieder,  sondern  wurde  auch  den  Grund- 
stein seines  bleibenden  Ruhmes ;  denn  seine  Opern  und  Sonaten 
sind  verhallet.     Sein  Alexanders  Fest  dauert."*" 

Interwoven  in  the  biography  of  Handel  is  a  characterization 
of  the  genuine  ode  and  lyric  which  Herder  links  with  music.  Alex- 
ander's Feast,  called  forth  by  the  patron  saint  of  music,  in  his  opin- 
ion complies  with  the  requirements  of  a  great  ode  and  is  superior 

^"^  Zerstreute  Blatter  von  J.  G.  Herder,  V,  289-326,  Gotha,   1793. 
*3  The  first  refrain  runs  : 

"  Ewige  Harmonie !  Kling'  ein  in  meine  Saiten. 
Heilige  Harmonie !  Kling  ein  in  meine  Seele." 
**Loco  citato,  p.  295. 

*'  Gothaische  gelehrte  Zeitung,  VH,  255.     1780. 
*'^  Adrastea,  III,  319-349. 

363 


76  Milton  D.  Bannujartncr 

to  all  others  dedicated  to  her.  "  Jede  wahre  Ode  sollte  ein  solcher 
Flug  der  Phantasie  und  Empfindung  seyn,  die  bald  wie  ein  Adler 
aufstrebt  und  scwebt,  oder  niederfährt  und  ergreift ;  bald  wie  eine 
Taube  girrt,  und  wie  die  Nachtigall  schmettert.  Am  zarten  Faden 
der  Empfindung,  oder  am  rastlosen  Gange  der  Gedankerf  und  Ge- 
fühle hangt  der  Zauber  der  lyrischen  Poesie,  den  in  allen  seinen 
Wendungen  die  Musik  mit  allen  ihren  IModulationen  begleitet. 
Ueber  eine  ode  solcher  Art,  Alexanders  Fest,  breitete  sich  Handels 
Geist  aus ;  andere  von  andern  Dichtern,  Pope,  Congreve,  Gray, 
Smart  u.  f.  sind  ihr  gefolget."*'' 

In  dififerentiating  between  spurious  and  genuine  musical  de- 
scription in  poetry,  Herder  analyses  and  compares  the  Saint  Cecelia 
odes  of  Pope  and  Dryden.     The  harmonious  lines  in  Pope's  ode, 

"  Dreadful  gleams, 
Dismal  screams, 
Fires  that  glow, 
Shrieks  of  woe  .  .  .  ," 

and  the  entire  first  stanza  are  to  him  only  pictures  and  imitations 
of  sounds  and  tones  which  do  not  vivify  our  emotions.  On  the 
other  hand  Dryden's  "None  but  the  brave"  etc.  expresses  a 
national  feeling,  and  the  falling  of  Darius,  the  powerful  monarch 
of  the  earth  moves  us  to  pity,  so  that  we  see,  hear,  feel,  and  mourn, 
forgetting  the  medium  of  sound  and  language.  In  Herder's  own 
excellent  translation  of  this  passage: 

"  fällt,  fällt,  fällt. 
Von  seiner  Höhe  fällt, 

Und  liegt  im  Blut. 
Verlassen  in  der  letzten  Noth 

Von  allen,  die  sein  Herz  geliebt, 
Auf  kaltem  Boden  hingestreckt 

Ohn'  einen  Freund,  der  ihm  das  Auge  schlieszt."^^ 

Herder  never  directly  mentions  Weisse's  translation  of  Alex- 
ander's Feast,  but  as  already  noted,  pays  a  tribute  to  that  made  by 
Ramler.  and  reviews  that  of  Kosegarten  in  connection  with  the 


47  Ibid.,  332  ff. 

'^^  Adrastca.  loco  citato,  p.  339. 


364 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  yj 

third  volume  of  his  Rhapsodies}^  He  commends  this  translation 
since  it  conveys  the  spirit  of  the  original,  but  regrets  that  Kose- 
garten  deviated  too  far  from  Dryden's  words  which  Handel  had 
canonized  with  his  composition,  and  admonishes  the  translator  not 
to  be  too  effusive  and  picturesque.  "...  die  englischen  Gedichte, 
die  den  grössten  Teil  (of  the  "  Rhapsodies"  HI)  ausmachen,  sind 
mit  gleichem  Geist  in  unsere  Sprache  nicht  so  wohl  uebersetzt,  als 
im  Hauch  uebertragen.  Die  vier  prächtigen  Lobgesänge  auf  die 
Tonkunst,  auf  welche  die  Dritten  stolz  sind,  Alexanders  Fest  von 
Dryden,  Congreves  Hymnus  an  die  Harmonie,  Popes  and  Smarts 
öden  am  Cäcilienfest  machen  den  Anfang.  Die  drei  ersten  waren 
ins  deutsche,  einige  mehrmals  übersetzt.  .  .  .  Bey  der  ersten  wer- 
den es  manche  bedaurn,  dass  sich  der  deutsche  Wortbau  hie  und 
da  etwas  zu  weit  von  der  Ursprache  entfernte,  in  der  Händel  fast 
jedes  Wort,  jeden  Einschnitt  des  Rhythmus  canonisiert  hat.  .  .  . 
Auch  der  süszesten  Worte  lass  nicht  zu  viel  sein."^'' 

Like  Herder  Eschenburg  was  greatly  interested  in  English  liter- 
ature as  is  shown  by  his  translation  of  Shakespere,  his  Bcispiel- 
sammlung  and  criticism  of  English  works.  He  received  a  copy 
of  Dryden  from  Lessing  in  1776.^^  His  translation  of  Brown's 
work  on  poetry  and  music  mentions  in  a  note  the  translations  of 
Alexanders  Feast  by  Weisse  and  Ramler.  "  Eine  glückliche  Ueber- 
setzung  dieser  zwo  berühmten  Oden  hat  uns  Hr.  Weisse  in  dem 
Anhang  seiner  scherzhaften  Lieder  geliefert.  Die  Uebcrsetzung 
von  Alexanders  Fest  ist  durch  Hr.  Ramler  so  eingerichtet,  dass 
sie  der  Handlischen  jMusik  kann  unterlegt  werden  und  so  in  Berlin 
aufgeführt  und  einzeln  abgedruckt."'-  It  is  significant  that 
Eschenburg  mentions  Weisse's  translation  which  Herder  had  not 
done.  In  the  Beispielsammlung  he  gives  Dryden  a  high  rank  as 
a  lyricist.  "  jMan  kennt  seine  Stärke  in  der  höhern  Ode  aus  dem 
Alexanders  Feste  "  f^  and  in  discussing  the  Kantaten  he  seems  to 
have  combined  the  praise  of  Young,  Warton,  and  Pope  in  his 

**Loco  citato,  III,  p.   5  fF.,   1801.     For  the   review   see  Hcdi/^cI.  XVII, 
p.  670. 
^°  See  Diinzer's  note  in  Hcuipcl,  loco  citato. 
^1  See  letter  of  Lessing  to  Eschenburg,  dated  Dec.  20.  1776. 
^-  Betrachtungen  ucbcr  Poesie  und  Musik,  p.  384,  1769. 
^3  Loco  citato,  V,  p.  61. 

365 


yS  Milton  D.  Battmgartner 

tribute  to  Dryden's  ode:  "Seine  gleichfalls  für  den  Cäcilientag 
bestimmte  musikalische  ode,  Alexander's  Feast,  ist  einer,  der  herr- 
lichsten Meisterstücke  der  neuern  Poesie ;  reich  an  zaubervoller 
Mannigfaltigkeit  der  Bilder  und  Beschreibungen,  an  Schönheit 
und  Wohlklang  des  Ausdrucks,  und  am  wirkungsvollsten  Wechsel 
der  Empfindung.  .  .  .  Gar  sehr  aber  übertraf  er  sich  selbst,  und 
alle  seine  Vorgänger  und  Nachfolger,  in  gegenwärtiger  ode,  die 
Pope  in  seinem  Essay  an  Criticism  sehr  treffend  charakterisiert. 
.  .  .  Uebrigens  weiss  man  dass  Händel  im  Jahre  1735,  (date  is 
1736)  dies  Meisterstück  in  eben  so  meisterhafte  Musik  setzte; 
und  dass  wir  es  Hr.  Ramler  zu  verdanken  haben,  der  einen 
deutschen  Text  mit  Grundlage  der  Weissischen  Uebersetzung,  zu 
dieser  Komposition  einrichtete,  dass  diese  letztere  auch  in  Deutsch- 
land bekannter  geworden,  und  mehrmals  von  Kennern  bewundert 
ist."^*  The  English  text  now  follows.  Eschenburg's  criticism 
contributed  to  the  awakening  of  new  interest  in  the  ode  a  decade 
before  the  close  of  the  century. 

Among  the  other  criticisms  of  Alexander's  Feast  those  hy  Boie, 
Schubart,  and  Böttiger  are  the  most  significant.  In  1771  Boie 
review^ed  Ramler's  second  translation  of  Dryden's  ode  in  the  Al- 
menach  der  deutschen  Mnsen,  the  organ  of  the  "  Dichterbund." 
Naturally  the  members  of  this  union  were  enthusiastic  for  the 
lyric  and  the  ode.  In  the  review  Boie  says :  *'  Schon  lange  ist 
Ramlers  vortreffliche  Uebersetzung  der  nie  genug  zu  bewundernde 
Ode  von  Dryden  den  Liebhabern  bekannt  gewesen,  hier  erscheint 
sie  aufs  neue  einzeln  gedruckt,  und  Zeile  für  Zeile  meisterhaft 
gebessert.  Drydens  Geist  ist  in  eine  so  feurige  und  körnigte 
und  harmonische  Sprache  uebertragen,  dass  man  diese  einem 
Original  gleich  schätzen  musz."^^ 

Schubart,  the  journalist,  musician,  and  lyricist,  was  the  author 
of  a  number  of  cantatas,  but  bewailed  the  lack  of  religious  can- 
tatas among  the  Germans.  "  Die  wahre  geistliche  Kantata  ist  bei- 
nahe noch  unbearbeitet  (among  the  Germans)  wie  schon  Herder 
und  Goethe  bemerkt  haben.  Freilich  keinen  Dryden,  keine  Cäzilia- 

s^Loco  citato,  VI,  p.  Z7Z'  I79i- 

^^  Almana ch  der  deutschen  Musen,  p.  106,  1771. 

366 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  79 

oden  haben  wir ;  aber  doch  köstHche  Oratorien  von  Niemeier  und 
Sangstücke  von  Kosegarten. "''° 

B.  (öttiger),  associate  editor  of  the  Neuen  Teutschen  Merkur, 
in  a  comment  to  the  two  translations  of  Alexander's  Feast  pub- 
Hshcd  in  that  journal,  voices  the  general  esteem  and  the  popu- 
larity of  the  translations,  and  even  of  the  original  of  Dryden's  ode 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  "  Es  gibt  gewisse 
Meisterstücke  der  Verkunst,  durch  deren  treue  Uebertragungen  in 
andere  Sprachen  fast  jeder  wahre  Künstler  von  jeher  sein  Stu- 
dium machte.  .  .  .  Wer  hat  nicht  z.  B.  die  Ode  der  Safifo  von  der 
Gewalt  der  Liebe,  oder  Petrarchas  Sonet  auf  Baucluse  einmal 
wenigstens  seiner  geheimen  Tafel  in  einer  Uebertragungsversuch 
anvertraut?  Ein  solch  oft  versuchtes  Stück  ist  auch  Drydens  be- 
rühmte Ode  auf  das  Cäcilienfest.  .  .  .  Das  Original  ist  aus  Retzer's 
Choice^''  oder  jeder  andern  nur  erträglichen  Chrestomathie  in 
jedermanns  Händen."^® 

The  other  criticism,  though  not  so  important  and  for  the  most 
part  not  original,  indicates  the  general  recognition  of  Alexander's 
Feast  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Schmid  speaks  of  the  renowned 
ode  of  Dryden,  and  mentions  the  happy  translation  which  Weisse 
made,  apparently  ignorant  of  that  made  by  Ramler.^"  Flögel  says 
that  Dryden's  genius  and  phantasy  seemed  to  become  more  active 
in  his  old  age,  for  in  his  sixty-eighth  year  he  wrote  the  ode  for 
Saint  Cecelia's  Day  which  was  regarded  as  the  most  perfect  in  all 
languages.''^  Blankenburg  says  it  is  known  among  the  Germans 
through  the  translations  of  Weisse  and  Ramler,  and  calls  it  an 
excellent  poem  but  criticises  the  close. ''^  Bouterwek  pronounces 
it  a  widely  known  and  much  admired  ode ;  a  masterpiece  for  its 

So  (C.  D.  F.)  Schubarts  Leben  und  Gesinming  von  ihm  selbst  im  Kerker 
aufgesetzt.  Herausgegeben  von  seinem  Sohne,  Ltidu'ig  Schubart.  II,  p. 
30.     Stuttgart,  1793. 

f*^  I  did  not  have  access  to  Retzer's  Choice  of  the  best  Poetical  Pieces. 
Vienna,  1783  ff.     See  N.  T.  Merkur,  Vol.  54,  p.  Ixxxvii. 

58  Loco  citato,  p.  81. 

5»  Theorie,  loco  citato,  II,  p.  367. 

60  Loco  citato.  II,  p.  367,  1785. 

61  Zusätze,  II,  p.  443a,  1796. 

367 


8o  Milton  D.  Baumgartner 

kind  without  a  model  in  the  early  English  literature,  which  won 
the  favor  of  those  who  did  not  prize  Dryden's  fables. ''^ 

In  a  few  instances  the  interest  in  Dryden  in  other  European 
countries  is  so  closely  related  to  Germany  as  to  warrant  brief  con- 
sideration. Simultaneously  with  Ramler's  first  translation  of 
Alexander's  Feast,  a  French  translation  in  verse  appeared  in 
Paris. ^^  Since  the  French  translator  included  this  in  his  collec- 
tion of  Gessner's  pastorals  and  Haller's  poems,  it  would  inevitably 
attract  the  attention  of  the  Germans. 

The  close  relation  of  Voltaire  to  Germany,  and  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  Frederick  the  Great  and  by  the  German 
scholars  and  critics  made  his  criticism  potent  in  that  country. 
Contrary  to  his  neighbor  critics  he  did  not  give  Pope  the  first  rank, 
but  regarded  Dryden  superior  to  all  English  poets  and  equal  to  all 
ancient.*'* 

Like  the  Germans  Voltaire  greatly  esteemed  the  ode,  and  his 
enthusiasm  for  Alexander's  Feast  even  surpassed  that  of  Eschen- 
burg and  Herder.*'"  In  his  estimation  it  was  superior  to  that  of 
Pope  and  all  modern  odes,  and  a  hundred  times  more  admirable 
than  all  of  Pindar.*'*' 

^2  Loco  citato,  VIII,  pp.  34  and  51,  1810. 

^3  "  Traduction  libri  de  I'ode — sur  le  pouvoir  de  la  Musique;  ou  la  Fete 
d'Alexandre,  en  I'honneur  de  Sainte  Cecile."  See  Brit.  Mn.  Cat.  under 
Dryden  and  Gessner  (S). 

®* "  Ses  [Dryden's]  ouvrages  sent  plein  de  details  naturals  ä  la  fois  et 
brillians,  animes,  vigoureux,  hardis,  passiones,  merite  qu'aucum  poete  de 
sa  nation  n'egale,  et  qu'aucun  ancien  n'a  surpasse.  Si  Pope,  qui  est  venu 
apres  lui,  n'avait  pas,  sur  la  fin  de  sa  vie  fait  son  Essai  sur  I'homme,  il 
ne  serait  pas  comparable  ä  Dryden."  See  "  Siecle  de  Louis  XI\' "  in 
Oeuvres  Completes  de  Voltaire,  Tome,  XXIV,  p.  248.  De  L'Imprimere 
de  La  Societe  Litteraire-Typographique,  1785. 

65  "  De  contes  les  odes  modernes,  celle  ou  il  regne  le  plus  enthusiasme 
qui  ne  s'afifaibloit  jamais,  et  qui  ne  tombe  ni  dans  le  faux,  ni  dans  I'am- 
poule,  est  le  Timothee,  ou  la  Fete  d'Alexandre  par  Dryden :  eile  est  encore 
regardee  en  Angleterre  comme  un  chef-d'oeuvre  inimitable,  dont  Pope 
n'a  pu  approcher,  quand  il  a  voulu  s'exercer  dans  I0  meme  genre.  Cette 
ode  fut  chantee ;  et  si  on  avait  en  un  musicien  digne  du  poete,  ce  serait  le 
chef-d'oeuvre  de  la  poesie  lyrique."  See  the  chapter  on  enthusiasm  in 
Dictionnaire  Philosophique,  loco  citato,  LI,  p.  48. 

•'ß  "  Vous  appclcz  Cowley  le  Pindare  anglais;  ....     Le  vrai  Pindare  est 

368 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  8i 

Voltaire  was  quoted  on  Dryden's  ode  by  the  Göttingischen  /In- 
seigen  in  1786:  '"  Seine  [Dryden's]  OdeTimotheus  muss  wohl  vor- 
trefflich sein,  da  sie  den  Beifall  einer  so  gelehrten  Nation,  und, 
was  manchen  noch  wichtiger  erscheinen  mag,  Voltaires  Beifall 
erhalten  hat.""^  Strangely  enough  the  German  review  is  in  con- 
nection with  an  Italian  criticism,  and  shows  that  the  Italians  like- 
wise had  noted  Dryden's  ode,  and  that  Voltaire's  criticism  of  it 
was  known  to  the  Germans. 

Bouterwek  commends  and  quotes  the  first  stanza  of  Aranjo  de 
Azavedo's  Portuguese  translation  of  Alexanders  Feast,  which 
was  published  along  with  the  English  text  at  Hamburg  in  1799."^ 
"  Seine  vortrefflichen  Uebersetzungen  des  Alexander-festes  von 
Dryden,  einiger  Oden  von  Gray,  und  der  bekannten  Elegy  of  a 
Country  Church  von  demselben  Dichter  sind  seine  wahre  Bereich- 
erung der  Portugiesischen  Nationallitteratur. "**''' 

Even  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  ode  of  Dryden  was  perpetu- 
ated through  the  many  performances  of  Handel's  music.  In  his 
letters  to  Goethe  Seltner  often  speaks  of  the  beauty  of  Handel's 
cpmposition ;'"  and  finally  the  Handel  Societies  organized  in  Eng- 
land and  in  Germany  in  the  nineteenth  century  have  published 
standard  editions  of  Handel's  composition,  accompanied  with  the 

Dryden,  auteur  de  cette  belle  ode  intitulee  La  Fete  d'Alexandre  et 
Timothee.  Cette  ode,  mise  en  musique  par  Purcell  (si  je  ne  me  trompe) 
passe  en  Angleterre  pour  le  chef-d'oeuvre  de  la  poesie  la  plus  sublime  et 
plus  variee;  et  je  yous  avoue  que,  comme  je  sais  mieux  I'anglais  que  le 
grec;  j'aime  cent  fois  mieux  cette  ode  qui  tout  Pindare."  See  letter 
written  to  Chabanon,  dated  March  9th,  1772.     Loco  citato,  LXXXI,  p.  268. 

It  seems  strange  that  Voltaire  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Handel 
had  set  the  ode  to  music. 

^'^  Loco  citato,  p.  1042. 

^8  For  the  original  title,  etc.,  again  see  British  Museum  Catalogue  under 
Dryden,  p.  47. 

80  Loco  citato,  IV,  p.  394.     1804. 

''°  Briefwechsel  zwischen   Goethe  und   Zeltner  in   den  Jahren   1796  bis 

1832.  Herausgegehen  von  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Riemer,  6  volumes.     Berlin, 

1833.  Zeltner  mentions  it  in  letters  numl)er  109,  112,  362,  425,  and  788. 
Together  they  planned  a  cantata  for  a  Luther  celebration,  and  in  the 
sketch  drawn  up  by  Goethe  he  says  that  Handel's  Alexander's  Feast  served 
as  a  model.  See  No.  277,  Goethe's  letter  to  Zeltner,  which  contains  the 
sketch. 

369 


82  Milton  D.  Baumgariner 

text  of  Drydcn,  which  will  aid  in  ])ci"]~)eUialin<:^  the  conii)oscr  and 
lyricist. 

2.  The  Relation  of  Drvdkn's  Otiii':r  T.ykics  to  Germany 

The  other  lyrics  of  Dryden  show  comparatively  little  relation 
to  Germany,  save  the  first  Cecelia  ode,  A  song  for  Saint  Cecelia's 
Day.  On  the  whole  this  ode  lacks  the  virility  of  Alcxandcj-'s 
Feast,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  first  two  and  the  last  stanzas 
is  either  descriptive  or  imitative  of  the  sounds  of  instruments,  as 
lines  25-28 : 

"  The  trumpets  loud  clangor 
Excites  us  to  arms 
What  shrill  notes  of  anger 
And  mortal  alarms." 

It  was  the  popularity  of  the  second  Saint  Cecelia  ode  of  Dryden 
that  brought  the  first  to  the  attention  of  the  Germans,  just  as  the 
success  of  the  composition  for  the  second  induced  Handel  to  set 
the  first  to  music  in  1739. 

In  a  footnote  in  his  Essay/'^  Warton  published  the  second  stanza 
which  induced  Mendelssohn  to  say :  "  Unser  Verfasser  .  .  .  führt 
bei  dieser  Gelegenheit  in  einer  Note  eine  Strophe  aus  einem  unbe- 
kannt gewordenen  Gedichte  von  Dryden  auf  die  Musik  an,  die 
wir  ihrer  vorzüglichen  Schönheit  halber  hierher  setzen  wollen. "^^ 
He  not  only  published  the  original  of  the  stanza  but  also  made  a 
translation.  Nicolai  also  included  this  in  his  translation  of  the 
Essay,''-^  but  the  superiority  of  Mendelssohn's  translation  is  very 
apparent  when  compared  with  that  of  Nicolai. 

Mendelssohn. 

"  Wie  mächtig  kann  die  Tonkunst  das  Gemüth  bewegen ! 
Als  Tubais  Saitenspiel  erklang, 
Da  horchten  um  ihn  seine  Brüder, 
Und  fielen  auf  ihr  Antlitz'nieder, 
Vor  diesem  himmlischen  Gesang; 
Ein  Gott,  so  dachten  sie,  muss  sich  hierinnen  regen; 

■^1  Loco  citato,  I,  p.  52. 

72  Loco  citato,  IV,  p.  513.     1758. 

73  Loco  citato,  VI,  p.  53.     1763. 


Dryden's  Relation   to   Germany  Z'^ 

Denn  sieh !  Das  Zauberwerk  ist  hohl, 

Das  so  begeisternd  sprach,  so  wohl. 

Wie  mächtig  kann  die  Tonkunst  das  Gemüth  bewegen "  1 

Nicolai. 

"  Was  für  Affekt  kann  die  Musik  nicht  erregen  und  dämpfen ! 
Als  Jubal  die  mit  Saiten  bezogene  Muschel  berührt, 
Standen  seine  horchende  Brüder  rund  um  ihn  staunend. 
Und  verwundernd  fielen  sie  auf  ihr  Angesicht  nieder, 
Um  den  himmlischen  Ton  in  tiefer  Anbetung  zu  ehren; 
Nur  ein  Gott,  so  glaubten  sie,  kann  in  der  Hole  der  Muschel 
Wohnen,  nur  er  kann  so  lieblich  und  süsz  sich  mit  uns  unterhalten. 
Was  für  Affekt  kann  die  Musik  nicht  erregen  und  dämpfen  " ! 

Both  ATendelssohn  and  Nicolai  translate  the  criticism  of  Warton 
in  the  Essay,  that  this  ode  is  an  excellent  subject  for  an  historical 
painting  since  the  artist  would  only  have  to  transform  the  words 
into  color.  It  was  probably  the  opinion  of  Warton  expressed  in 
the  Essay  that  induced  Lessing  in  the  Laokoon  to  refer  to  the  ode 
of  Dryden  as  an  illustration  that  musical  pictures  are  superior  to 
those  painted  with  a  brush.  "  Nun  kann  der  Dichter  zu  diesem 
Grade  der  Illusion,  wie  die  Erfahrung  zeiget,  auch  die  A^orstellung 
andrer  als  sichtbare  Gegenstände  erheben.  Folglich  müssen  dem 
Artisten  ganze  Klassen  von  Gemälden  abgehen,  die  der  Dichter 
vor  ihm  voraus  hat.  Drydens  Ode  auf  den  Cäcilientag  ist  voller 
musikalischer  Gemälde,  die  den  Pinsel  müssig  lassen."'* 

Bürde  was  also  greatly  interested  in  the  Saint  Cecelia  odes,  and 
his  ode  Die  Griechische  Tonkunst  has  a  number  of  the  motives  of 
Dryden's  ode,  but  I  think  Koch  is  hardly  warranted  in  calling  it  a 
translation  of  the  first  Saint  Cecelia  ode  of  Dryden,  since  in  sub- 
ject matter,  in  arrangement,  and  in  form  it  differs  from  Dryden." 
The  second  stanza  runs : 

"  Ich  seh  den  Aether  sich  erhellen ; 
Die  Schöpfung  schwimmt  in  neuem  Purpurlicht. 
Ein  Jubal  steigt,  und  tausend  Stimmen  schwellen. 
Die  weite  Luft,  gedrängt  in  hohen  Wellen; 
.Wie  auf  dem  Ocean  sich  Wog' an  Woge  bricht."^^ 

''^Lcssings  Werke,  IX,  part  I,  p.  90,  D.  N.  L. 

"•^  Stud,  zur  verg.  Litteraturgeschichte,  Ergäncungsheft,  p.  38,  1905. 

^c  Published  in  Schiller's  Neue  Thalia,  III,  pp.  47-SO-     Leipzig,  1793. 


84  Milton  D.  Bauuigartner 

Two  other  odes  by  Bürde  are  puhlished  in  Schiller's  Horen;''''  the 
first,  An  Cecilia,  begins:  "Wenn  ich  deine  Zauberstimme  höre"; 
the  second,  Der  neue  OrpJiciis  "  Heil  euch  süsse  Harmonien." 

The  remaining  reviews  of  Dryden's  first  Cecelia  ode  are  con- 
nected with  the  discussion  of  Alexander  s  Feast  and  appear  near 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  Gottinyische  Anzeigen 
I'on  Gelehrten  Sachen  pronounces  it  rather  flimsy  and  too  arti- 
ficial;'^ in  his  Bcispielsaiinnhing  Eschcnburg  commends  the  very 
beautiful  passages  it  contains;'"  Rlankcnburg  calls  it  "cine  ganz 
gute  Ode";^"  and  Bouterwek,  who  prints  the  first  stanza  in  Eng- 
lish, commends  the  beginning  and  the  conclusion.-^ 

The  lines  dedicated  to  Milton  and  printed  under  his  picture  in 
which  Dryden  attributes  the  genius  of  Homer  and  X'irgil  to  the 
English  poet  was  imitated  and  translated  in  Germany.  Before  he 
knew  English,''-  Gottsched  cjuotes  then  in  the  Critischcn  Dicht- 
kunst^^ from  the  Spectator  to  show  the  greatness  of  Alilton,  as  the 
feud  between  him  and  Bodmer  had  not  yet  begun.  Two  years 
later  Bodmer  translated  and  published  it  in  the  preface  to  the  first 
translation  of  Paradise  Lost. 

"  Drey  Dichter  hat  die  Zeit  hervor  gebracht, 
Der  Griechen  Zier,  der  Römer  und  der  Britten ; 
Im  ersten  herrscht  Erhabenheit  und  Macht; 
Im  andern  Schönheit;  beides  in  dem  Dritten. 
Als  die  Natur  nicht  weiter  konte  gehn, 
Vereinte  sie  im  Letztern  jene  Zween." 

Kasper  Gottl.  Lindner  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  life  and  works  of 
Martin  Opitz  in  1740,  and  in  the  dedication  be  imitates  Dryden's 
tribute  to  Milton. 

''"'  VI,  Stück  6,  p.  102,  Tübingen,  1796. 
^8  For  the  year  1786,  p.  1046. 
'"  Loco  citato,  VI,  p.  Z72»  I79i- 
8°  Loco  citato,  II,  p.  443a,  1793. 

81  Loco  citato,  VIII,  p.  51,  1810. 

82  The  two  lines  he  quotes  as  follows : 

"  The  force  of  Nature  could  no  further  go 
To  moke  a  third,  she  joined  the  former  two." 

83  Loco  citato,  p.  177,  1741. 


Dry  den's  Relation  to   Germany  85 

"  Was  einst  Horaz,  Homer,  Virgil  und  Pindar  war, 
Das  stellt  uns  Schlesien  in  dem  Opitz  dar." 

Gottsched  reviewed  the  work  and  would  have  it  read  :** 

"  Was  Hesiod,  Horaz,  Petrarch  und  Ronsard  war, 
Und  Spenzer  noch  dazu,  das  stellt  uns  Opitz  dar." 

Of  the  other  lyrics  of  Dryden  his  Roundelay  (1693)  was  trans- 
lated and  published  in  the  Neuen  Wiener  Musenalmanach  in  the 
year  1800.^^  Nicolai  also  translated  the  last  eight  lines  of  the 
poem  dedicated  to  the  painter,  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  which  he 
found  in  Warton's  Essay}^  The  poem  written  at  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Killigrew,  Eschenburg  pronounces  a  beautiful  lyrical  poem, 
and  adds  that  in  the  lighter  lyrical  songs  Dryden  was  successful, 
which  he  exemplifies  by  adding  the  English  text  of  his  A  Song}"^ 
Blankenburg  regards  the  Ode  to  Mrs.  Killigrezv^^  one  of  the  best 
English  odes.  Bouterwek  believes  that  Dryden  was  not  a  lyricist 
who  really  sang  from  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  but  at  times  was  in 
a  happy  lyrical  mood,  and  pronounced  the  poems  written  in  a 
lighter  vein  "  vortrefflich."*" 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Dryden  no  longer  ranks  as  a  great 
lyricist  in  England  and  Germany,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  in  the 
eighteenth  century  he  was  ranked  by  both  English  and  German 
critics  as  a  lyricist  of  the  first  magnitude.  The  popularity  of  Alex- 
ander's Feast  in  England,  upon  which  the  fame  of  Dryden  as  a 
lyricist  primarily  rests,  paved  the  way  for  his  popularity  in  Ger- 
many. The  change  in  the  nature  of  German  poetry,  the  revival 
of  folk-songs  and  music,  and  the  translation  of  favorable  English 
criticism  of  Dryden  during  the  second  half  of  the  century,  also 
accounts  for  his  cordial  reception.  The  favorable  attitude  of  the 
German  critics,  and  the  numerous  translations  convince  us  that 
Dryden's   lyrics   combined    with    Handel's   musical    compositions 

s*  Critische  Bcytr'dge,  IV,  part  i,  p.  514,  Leipzig,  1741. 

^^  See  Goedekc,  VII,  p.  703. 

^'^  Gesammelte  Schriften,  VI,  1763. 

87  Loco  citato,  V,  p.  61,  1790. 

88  Loco  citato,  II,  p.  446a,  1796. 
83  Loco  citato,  VIII,  p.  51,  1810. 

373 


86  Milton  D.  Baumgarlncr 

played  a  part  in  shaping  the  lyrical  poetry  of  Germany  during  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Conclusion 

In  this  study  it  has  been  shown  that  Drydcn,  unlike  Pope,  was 
first  introduced  into  Germany  directly  from  England.  At  Ham- 
burg Mac  Flccknoc  was  translated  and  adapted  early  in  Hans 
Sachs.  Hans  Sachs  fostered  literary  cliciues,  and  as  a  result 
there  was  introduced  into  Germany  a  direct  personal  literary  criti- 
cism. Later  it  was  revived  by  Bodmer  and  utilized  in  the  Swiss- 
Gottsched  controversy.  The  other  satires  of  Dryden  were  not 
closely  related  to  Germany,  but  the  Treatise  on  the  Origin  and 
Progress  of  the  Satire  was  translated  by  Nicolai,  and  accepted  as 
a  guide. 

While  early  noted  by  German  critics  the  Essay  on  Dramatic 
Poesie,  however,  was  not  introduced  into  Germany  until  after  the 
partial  French  translation,  wdiich  Gottsched  in  turn  translated. 
Although  Lessing  learned  to  know  Dryden  through  \^oltaire"s  Let- 
tres,  Gottsched's  translation  induced  him  to  translate  the  Essay. 
His  translation  proved  the  fallacy  of  Gottsched's  contention,  that 
Dryden  preferred  the  French  theater  to  the  English.  The  Essay 
also  influenced  Lessing's  utterances  in  the  seventeenth  Litcratnr- 
hrief,  as  is  shown  by  the  external  and  internal  evidence.  Lessing's 
translation  won  recognition  for  it  in  Germany. 

The  relation  of  Dry  den's  plays  to  Germany  is  not  so  conse- 
cjuential  as  that  of  his  satires  and  the  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesie; 
nevertheless  four  of  his  plays  were  translated.  TJie  State  of 
Innocence  and  All  for  Love  played  the  most  prominent  part ;  the 
former  at  Zürich,  and  the  latter  at  Mannheim.  TJie  State  of 
Innocence  was  introduced  as  a  companion  piece  of  Paradise  Lost; 
and  All  for  Love  found  its  way  into  Germany  because  of  its  con- 
nection with  Shakspere's  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  and  became  Dry- 
den's  most  widely  disseminated  play. 

The  fables  and  poetic-classical  translations  of  Dryden  owe  their 
popularity  in  Germany  to  their  elegant  form.  This  characteristic 
of  Dryden's  fables  exerted  an  influence  upon  Hagedorn,  and 
caused  him  to  follow  this  elegance  of   form  in  his  own  poetry. 

374 


Dryden's  Relation  to   Germany  87 

Hagedorn  even  used  Philctnon  and  Baucis  as  a  source  for  a  fable. 
In  addition  to  Philemon  and  Baucis  there  were  translated  The 
Cock  and  the  Fox,  and  Theodore  and  Honoria.  The  relation  of 
Dryden's  fables  to  Germany  was  not  limited  to  one  literary  center, 
nor  to  one  period  of  time.  The  poetic-classical  translations,  par- 
ticularly that  of  \^irgil,  found  admiration  in  Germany  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  century. 

As  a  lyricist  Dryden  was  esteemed  in  both  England  and  Ger- 
many during  the  eighteenth  century.  His  fame  as  a  lyricist  rests 
primarily  on  Alexander's  Feast.  Its  popularity  in  England  also 
gave  it  popularity  in  Germany.  The  change  in  the  nature  of  Ger- 
man poetry  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  also 
accounts  for  its  cordial  reception,  as  the  descriptive  and  rational- 
istic literary  currents  gave  way  to  the  enthusiasm  for  folk-songs 
and  lyrics.  The  favorable  criticism  of  recognized  critics  and 
translations  by  renowned  poets,  combined  with  Handel's  musical 
compositions,  made  Dryden  a  factor  in  shaping  the  lyrical  poetry 
of  Germany. 

Although  not  all  the  translations  of  Dryden  faithfully  interpret 
the  English  author,  and  Dryden  at  no  time,  and  in  no  particular 
literary  center  was  as  prominent  as  Shakspere,  Pope,  and  Young, 
nevertheless  the  recognition  in  the  numerous  fields  of  poetry,  and 
his  wide  dissemination  in  Germany  during  the  eighteenth  century 
prove  that  his  relation  to  Germany  was  of  considerable  importance. 


•    375 


